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THE / /

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

MAGAZINE,,

AN ILLUSTRATED MONTHLY >

honorary Editor: JOHN HYDE

HONORARY ASSOCIATE EDITORS

A. W. GREELY W J McGEE ELIZA RUHAMAH SCIDMORE

VOL. VII -YEAR 189G

WASHINGTON

THE NATIONAL GEOGRARIIIC SOCTETY"
IS!)<;

NOV 5 1981

vJ:(Bf?ARIES

WASHINGTON, D. C.

JUDD & DETWEILER, PRINTERS
1896

CONTENTS

Page

Introductory; [John Hyde].., 1

Russia in Europe; by Gardiner G. Hubbard 3

Tlie Arctic Cruise of the U. S. Revenue Cutter Benr ; by Sheldon

Jackson 27

The Scope and Value of Arctic Explorations; by A. W. Greely. ... 32

Obituary (Robert Brown, Admiral Pearse, Henry Seebohm, Rear

Admiral Shufeldt) 40

Geographic Literature (Elementary Physical Geography, Tarr ; The
Gold Diggings of Cape Horn, Spears; South Africa, Keane;
National Geographic Monographs, Powell, Shaler, Russell, Wil-
lis, Diller, Davis, Gilbert, and Hayes ; Tibet, Rockhill ; Chili,

Bianconi ; Highways of Commerce, Consular Office) 40

Executive Reports (War, Navy, Post Office, and Interior Depart-
ments; Interstate Commerce Commission) 43

New Maps 45

Proceedings of the National Geographic Society .' 46

North American Notes 48

Venezuela: Her Government, People, and Boundary; by William

E. Curtis 49

The Panama Canal Route ; by Robert T. Hill 59

The Tehuantepec Ship Railway ; by Elmer L. Corthell 64

The Present State of the Nicaragua Canal; by A. W. Greely 73

Explorations by the Bureau of American Ethnology in 1895 ; b}^

W J McGee 77

Geographic Literature (The Yellowstone National Park, Chittenden ;

Sixteenth Annual Report of the IT. S. Geological Surve3’', etc. . . 80

Y ucatan in 1895 83

Proceedings of the National Geographic Society 86

Geographic Notes. 87

The Valley of the Orinoco ; by T. H. Gignilliat. 92

Tlie So-called “Jeannette Belies” ; by William H. Dall 93

Nansen’s Polar Expedition ; by A. W. Greely 98

The Submarine Cables of the World ; by Gustave Herrle. ....... 102

Peter Cooper and Submarine Telegraphy ; [A. W. Grelly] 108

The Russo-Ymerican Telegraph Project of 1864-’67; by W. H. Dall. 110
Survey and Subdivision of Indian Territory ; by Henry Gannett. . . 1J2

“ Free Burghs ” in the United States ; by Jamls H. Blodgeit 116

Proceedings of the National Geographic Society 122

Miscellanea 124

Seriland ; by W J McGnu and Willard D. Johnson 125

The Olympic Country ; by S. C. Gilman 133

The Discovery of Glacier Bay, Alaska ; bv Eliza R. Scidmore. ... 140
Hydrography in the United States ; by Frederick H. Newell 146

iii

CONTICNTS

Page

RcccMit Trian^ulation in the Cascades ; by S. S. Gaxnktt loO

The Altitude of Mount Adams, Washinfjton ; by Edgar McCi.ure. . 151
Geographic Literature (Archeological Studies atnong the Ancient
Cities of Alexico, Holmes; Geological History of the Chautauqua

Graj)e Belt, Tarr ; Die Liparischen Inseln, Hawranek) 153

Proceedings of the National Geographic Society 155

Aliscellanea 156

Africa since ISSS, with Special Reference to South Africa and Abys-
sinia; by Gardiner G. Hubbard 157

Fundamental Geographic Relation of the Three Americas; by Rob-
ert T. Hiui 175

Tbe Kansas River; b\’ Arthur P. Davis 181

Geographic Literature (Le(;ons de Geographie Physiipie, de Lappar-
ent ; Annual Report of the Superintendent of the U. S. Coast and

Geodetic Survey) 184

Miscellanea 188

The Seine, the Aleuse, and the Aloselle; by William M. Davis [IJ. . 189
Across the Gulf by Rail to Key AVest ; by Jefferson B. Browne. . . . 203
A Geographical Description of the British Islands; by AV. AI. Davis.. 208

The Alexican Census; [A. AV. Greely] 211

Geographic Literature (Handbook of Arctic Di.scoveries, Greely;
Crater Lake Special Alap, Diller ; Rand, AIcNally and Company’s
Alaps; Occupations of the Negroes, Gannett; Foreign Commerce

and Navigation; Statistical Abstract of tbe United States) 212

Proceedings of the National Geographic Society ’. 214

Geograidiic Notes .... 217

Aliscellanea, 220

The AA'ork of the U. S. Board on Geographic Names; by Henry Gan-
nett 221

The .Seine, the Aleuse, and the Aloselle ; by AVilliam AL Davis [II] . . 228

A Journey in Ecuador; by AIark B. Kerr 238

The Aberration of Sound as Ilhistrateil by the Berkeley Powder Ex-
plosion; by Robert H. Chapman 246

Alineral Production in the United States 250

Geographic Notes 251

Aliscellanea 252

The AVork of the National Geographic Society; [W J AIoGee] 253

Eighth Annual Field Aleeting of the National Geographic Society;

[W J AIcGee] 259

Geographic History of the Piedmont Plateau; by W J AIcGee 261

Sjkottswood’s Flxpedition in 1716; by William AI. Thornton 265

Jefferson as a Geographer; b}’ A. AA’. Greely 269

Albemarle in Revolutionary Days; bj' G. Brown Goode 271

Geograpliic Notes 281

Al iscellanea 283

The Recent Flarthquake AAhive on the Coast of Japan; by Eliza R.

Sctdmore 285

The Return of Dr Nansen 290

Descriptive Topographic Terms of Spanish America; by R. T. Hill. 291

CONTENTS

Page

The "Weather Bureau Eiver and Flood System ; by Willis L. Moori:. 302

Cliarles Francis Hall and Jones Sound ; [A. W. Greely] 3CaS

^lineral Production in the United States 310

Reports of Sealing Schooners from Tuscarora Deep ; by Eliza R. Scid-

MORE 310

Geographic Notes 312

The American Association at Buffalo ; [W J AIcGee] •. 315

Death of G. Brown Goode; [W J McGee] 316

California; by George C. Perkins 317

The Economic Aspects of Soil Erosion ; by N. S. Siialer [I] 328

The Nansen Polar Expedition; by Ernest A. Man 339

Ice-cliffs on the Kowak River; by J. C. Cantwell 345

Recent Hydrographic Work ; [F. H. Newell] 347

Miscellanea 348

The Witwatersrand and the Revolt of the Uitlanders ; by George F.

Becker ... 349

The Economic AsjDects of Soil Erosion; by N. S. Shaler [II] 368

A Critical Period in South African History; [John Hyde] 377

Proceedings of the National Geographic Society 379

Geographic Notes 380

Report of the Sixth International Geographical Congress. 380

The Geography of the Southern Peninsula of the United States; by

John N. MacGonigle 381

Tlie Sage Plains of Oregon ; by Frederick V. Covii.le 395

The U. S. Department of Agriculture and its Biological Survey ; [John

Ha’de] 405

Statistics of Railways in the United States ; [Henry' Gannett] 406

Geographic Work in Peru ; [W J McGee] 407

Geographic Literature (The Scenery of Switzerland and the Causes
to which it is due, Lubbock ; Frye’s Home and School Atlas;

Lakes of North America, Russell) 408

Proceedings of the National Geographic Society 410

Geographic Notes 411

Miscellanea 412

ILLUSTRATIONS

Page

Pl.vte 1 — Map of Russia in Europe 1

2 — United States revenue-marine steamer Bear, moored to a

field of ice in B(*ringsea 27

3 — Herd of reindeer lying down 28

4— Scene at Point Barrow in April 30

5 — Map of the Orinoco valley 49

6 — La Giiayra, from the east 52

7 — Valley of Caracas, east of the capitid, with coffee and sugar

j)Iantations .54

vi ILL I’STRA TIONS

Page

Platk 8 — Valley of Caracap, west of the capital, with plantations and

sugar factory 56

5) — Construction work on the Panama canal in 1895 62

10— Chart showing the submarine cables, principal land lines,

coaling stations, etc., of the world 9.3

11 — Portrait of Dr F’ridtjof Nansen 98

12 — Portrait of William H. Dali 110

13 — Indian Territory — camp of a .surveying party of the United

Suites Geological Survey, 1895 114

14— Map of Seriland, Sonora, iMe.vico 125

15 — VieM' of Seriland from camp on Tiburon island 128

16 — Map of the Olymiiic country, Washington .'. 133

17 — Front of ^luir glacier from the west moraine. Mount Case

in the background. 142

18 — Portrait of Gardiner G. Hubbard 157

19 — .Sketch map of Africa 16)4

20— Portrait of General A. W. Greely, United States Army. . . 189

21 — Map of the valley of the Seine near Duclair 191

22 — Ma]) of the valley of the Moselle near Berncastel 193

23— Map of the valley of the Meuse near St ^lihiel 194

24 — Maj) of the valley of the Meuse near Dun-.suf-Meuse 195

25 — Handiwork of the Cayapas Indians, Ecuador 221

26— Map of the lower valley of the Bar 236

27— Residence of the Gohernador of the Cayapas Indians, on

the Rio Cayapas, Ecuador 241

28 — Portrait of Henry Gannett 253

29 — Monticello, Virginia, meeting of the National Geographic

Society, May 16, 1896 2.59

.30— Effects of the earthquake wave at Kamaishi, .lapan, .Tune

1.5, 1896 285

31 — Sketch map of .lapan 285

32— Scenes on the coast at Kamaishi, .lapan, June 15, 1896. . . . 286

33 — Scene on thecoa.stof the island of Hondo, .lapan, after the

earthquake wave of June 15, 1.896 288

34 — IMap of the Arctic regions, showing routes traversed by the

Nan.sen e.vpedition of 189.3-1896 317

35— Market square, Johannesburg, .South Africa .349

.36 — Zulu bride and bridegroom 356

37 — Crossing the Umbelosi river, Swazieland 360

38 — Flying the Transvaal flag on the offices of the reform com-
mittee, Johanne.sburg, December 31, 1895 364

.39 — Phosphate mining on the west coast of Florida .381

40 — On the St. Johns river .384

Falls of the Miami river 384

41— On the Caloo.sahatchee river .388

L- -

The

■ • 'Mitt'

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AN ILttJSrkATE

I 'Li

Honoitary Editor : JOHN ^VSe

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Hoioraiy Associate £^t[prs

W. OREELY W jiMcGEE , ELIZA l^UH AMAH SCIDMpRE

CONTENTS

TiEODUCTQRY THE EDITOR |

I^SIA IN EUROPE. HON. GARDINER G. HUBBARD

i‘B ARCTIC CRUISE OF THE U^S, REVENUE CUTTER “BEAR.”
With illustrations. DR. SHELDON JACKSON

SCOPE AND VALUE OF ARCTIC EXPLORATION.

GEN. A. W. GREELY

GRAPH19 literature

CEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY
TH AMERICAN NOTES

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THE

National Geographic Magazine

Yol. VII JANUARY, 1896 No. 1

INTRODUCTORY

With the present number the National Geographic Magazine
commences a new series and makes its first appearance as a
monthly publication. What shall be its precise scope and func-
tion has been the most difficult question its editors have been
called upon to^ete^Tnine. From no other point of view is the in-
terdependence of the sciences so manifest as from the geographic.
Geography in its broader sense has to do not merely with the
physical featured of the earth’s surface, but with the distribution
of animal and vegetable life, with political divisions and subdi-
visions, with the growth and movement of population, with the
progress of human society, with the development of the earth’s
natural resources, and with commercial intercourse between na-
tions. To cover successfully so vast and so diversified a field is
entirely beyond the capacity of any single periodical publication.
Either it must restrict itself to physical geography and become
largely technical, or it must content itself with briefly chronicling
the more notable additions to geographic knowledge in those
parts of the world in which its readers are less directly interested,
and with becoming more especially tlie exponent of the geogra-
ph}^ — physical, political, and commercial — of the continent with
which its pul)lication more particularly identifies it. And surely
in the case of an American publication tins is a sufficient!}'' broad
field. There are vast regions of the New World that must con-
tinue to tempt the venturesome explorer for many years to come.
Here, too, on this continent “ the rudiments of empire are,” in the
words of one of our own poets, “ plastic yet and warm })olitical
Ijrohlems are being wrought out on an unexami)led scale, a fusion
of races hitherto without i)arallel is going on, and the bounty of
nature is being {)Oured out with a more lavish hand than in any
other equally e.xtensive [)ortion of the globe. It will accordingly

IXTRODUCTOR Y

be the aim of the National Geographic Magazine to he American
rather than cosmopolitan, and in an especial degree to be National.
There is hardly a United States citizen whose name has become
identified with Arctic exploration, with the Bering sea contro-
versy, or with the Alaska boundary dispute who is not an active
member of the National Geographic Society and a contributor to
the pages of its magazine. In the Army and Navy the Society
is also well represented, and from the gallant and accomplished
ofificers of those important branches of the service it receives from
time to time much valuable information. The principal officers
and experts of the different scientific bureaus of the Govern-
ment— the Geological Survey, the Coast and Geodetic Survey,
the Smithsonian Institution, the National Museum, the Hydro-
graphic Office, the Naval Observatory, the "Weather Bureau, the
Bureau of American Ethnology, the Biological Division of the
Department of Agriculture, and others — have always been among
the most active members of the Society, and^the great work that
is being done by these several bureaus — a work that is at once
the wonder and admiration of foreign scientii^ts — will be regu-
larly discussed in the pages of the magazine by those who are in
close touch with if not actually engaged in it. Turning from
our own country to the sister republics of the two Americas, we
find almost all of them connected with the Society in the persons'
of their diplomatic representatives, and through the cordial coop-
eration of these gentlemen the magazine will receive from time
to time the latest and most authentic geographic intelligence con-
cerning countries in which the people of the United States are
now taking an exceedingly keen and friendly interest. That the
magazine will not reach at a single liound the high standard at
which those responsible for its management are aiming will
scarcely be a disappointment either to its editors or its readers.
The measure of its success, however, will not wholly depend
upon the efforts of those conducting it. Nothing less than the
generous support of that numerous class of the community which
is interested in one or another of the different branches of geo-
graphic science will enable the National Geograidiic Society to
make its magazine everything that it ought to lie and pro}ierly
equip it for the discharge of its function as The ^Magazine of
American Geography. To possess a knowledge of the condi-
tions and possibilities of one’s own country is surely no small
part of an enlightened patriotism, and to the })atriotic imi)ulses
of the American people no appeal was ever made in vain.

RUSSIA IX EUROPE

RUSSIA IN EUROPE*

By Hon. Gardiner G. Hubbard, LL. D., President of the National
Geographic Society

England, the United States, and Russia have each made
greater territorial acquisitions during the present century than
all the other countries of the world together. In the case of the
British empire, these have been larger and more important than
those of either the United States or Russia. The United States
and Russia have only annexed contiguous territory, save Alaska.
Russia when first enrolled among civilized nations, in the time
of Peter the Great, had no outlet to any ocean except the Arctic,
and consequently no possibility of a navy or of commerce.
Since then she has extended her dominion northwest to the
gulf of Bothnia and the Baltic sea, building St. Petersburg on
the marshes of Finland, south to the Black and Caspian seas,
southeast to Afghanistan and China, and in the extreme east to
the river Amur and the Pacific.

The acquisitions of the Russian Empire within this centuiy
are greater in extent and importance than the whole of European
Russia before that time. Her frontier has been advanced
toward Stockholm 630 miles, toward Berlin 700 miles, toward
Constantinople 500 miles, toward India 1,300 miles. Her terri-
tory in Europe comprises more than one-half of that continent;
yet with all her great empire she has only three ports, and
these on the Black sea, open to navigation throughout the year,
the others being closed by ice from three to six months, while
from those on the Black sea ships of war have no right to
pas.s into the Mediterranean. Until within one hundred years
southern and southeastern Russia were infested with hordes of
Tartars and Kalmucks, who overran nearly one-third of Russia —
wandering tribes without fixed habitation or permanent govern-
ment, “ marauders, slave-dealers, and vagabonds,’’ who “ came,
compiered, burned, ])illaged, murdered, and went.’’ The first
step of Russia when she determined that her em])ire should
l)elong to the civilization of Europe was the subjugation of these
tribes. This has been accomplislied by compelling the Tartars

*Ammal :ul(lre.ss delivercil May 10, 1805.

RUSSIA IX EUROPE

and Kalmucks to live within fixed and permanent boundaries,
by enrolling tlie Cossacks into bands of cavalry, and substituting
the agricultural for the nomadic life. Many of the tribes, unwil-
ling to give up their wandering life, retired beyond the Caspian
sea, and from those regions continued their inroads upon the
Russian settlements. Russia, for her own protection, was again
obliged to subdue these unruly tribes, and thereby to extend
her dominion still farther to the east, until it finally reached a
barrier in the Pamir and tlie mountains of Afghanistan.

PHYSICAL FEATURES OF RUSSIA.

If nature ever made the boundaries of a nation, it determined
those of Russia — the Arctic ocean on the north, the Ural
mountains on the east, the Black and Caspian seas on the
south, and the Baltic sea on the northwest, with Siberia and
Trans-Caspia as the natural extension of her empire.

In August, 1881, I left London on a trip to Russia, passing
through Antwerp, Berlin, and Konigsberg to St. Petersburg;
thence to Moscow and Nijni Novgorod. From Moscow I went
southeast through Russia, over the Caucasus to Tiflis, in Asia;
thence to Batoum and Sebastopol, on the Black sea, and from
the Crimea north to ^Moscow. In all this journey of 3,500 miles
we crossed no range of mountains, we saw no hills more than
five or six hundred feet in height until we reached the Cau-
casus. It was one broad, level plain from Antwerp to Konigs-
berg, 150 miles in width, bounded on the north by the Baltic,
on the south by the Erzberg and the foothills of the Carpathian
mountains. Entering Russia, the plain widens, extending north-
east 1,800 miles along the coast of the Arctic ocean to the Ural
mountains, south to the Black sea and the foothills of the Cau-
casus, and southeast 3,000 miles to the mountains of Afghan-
istan. My letters written from the foothills of the Caucasus say :
“ Onl}’’ think of traveling from one end of Europe to the other
over a plain, neither hill nor mountain in all the route, with
scarcely a new scene from morning to night or from one day
to another. After two days’ and nights’ traveling nearl}’- due
south from St. Petersburg we have not reached as far south as
St. Johns, in Newfoundland.”

“Yesterday our route was over great plains with rich black
earth, occasional forests, i)retty well watered; today, broad level
stej^pes with sandy soil, without a tree in sight. We are trav-

RUSSIA IN EUROPE

eling through the land of the Cossacks; men and -women at
every station have Asiatic faces, and wear generally a goatskin
coat, with the fur inside, fastened by a girdle. No trace of cul-
tivation, except on the streams which we cross from time to
time. These streams flow in low, narrow valleys; the road
descends two or three hundred feet into the valleys by curves,
and then ascends to the plain to save grading, and this affords
the only variation in tlie scenery.”

In this great plain there are five distinct zones of land : The
frozen, the forest, the black, the agricultural, and the barren
steppes. The black zone, near the center, is the most fertile and
thickly inhabited. To the north the country grows gradually
less fertile, passing through the forest zone to the Arctic zone,
entirel}’- destitute of vegetation. To the south of the black zone
the country likewise grows less and less fertile, passing through
the agricultural zone to the dry and sandy steppes, entirely des-
titute of vegetation.

From 200 to 300 miles in width, the black zone extends from
Austria, a little north of east, across Russia, over the Ural
mountains, far into Siberia. It resembles our ])rairies ; has a
rich, l)lack soil of great depth, unsurpassed in fertility. Reclus
sa,ys that “ all traces of glaciers disappear where the black lands
begin and the forests end, while the contrast between the flora
of the two regions is complete.” American geologists believe
that the glaciers extended over the whole of Russia to the Black
sea, and that the great level plain which constitutes Russia is
due to aqueo-glacial action.

In the northern part of the black zone are occasional groves of
oak and birch ; traveling north these are succeeded by forests
of hardwood, with occasional evergreens. Gradually the hard-
wood disappears ; then we enter the forest zone, j)ines and
evergreens. About one-third of Russia is forest. In this region
are immense districts, where the onlv roads are rivers flowinsr
througli interminable walls. Then comes a land of rocks, lakes,
and swam])s,with isolated and snowy masses rising above the
forests and peat-l)eds. This is the Arctic zone, and here is
Finland, a region of lakes, over eleven hundred in one province ;
the great forests of pine become small evergreens, reaching a
height of 25 feet in 100 years, gaining their maturity in 300 years.
Gradually they become yet smaller and are of slower growth.
The giant of these forests is the willow, which sometimes reaches

RUSSIA IN EUROPE

a height of 6 inches. A little farther north the rainfall exceeds
the evaporation and river-flow and forms a woodless plain of
small lakes and morasses, called tundra, on which neither man
nor beast could set foot if the ground were not frozen to the
depth of very many feet; in summer melting a little more than
one foot. Into this treeless region in summer come innumer-
able birds of different kinds to build their nests and hatch their
young. In autumn they fly south — some to the Crimea, some
to Asia, others into Africa. So level is the countr}'^ that in their
flight they rarely reach a lieight of 500 feet above sea-level.
This is the land of the Samoyeds, where agriculture is impossi-
ble, and the natives live by Ashing and hunting. Still farther
north, yet in Russia, is Nova Zembla, 75° north latitude, where
no animal life exists ; but even here, in this land of ice and
snow, several hundred species of lichen have l)een found.
Though the surface of the water is frozen for about nine months
in the year, }’^et fish and animalculse abound, the temperature of
the fish varying with the water in which they live, here only a
little above the freezing-point.

Returning to the black zone, near the latitude of Mo.scow, and
traveling south, first the hardwood gives place to the rich prairie
land; then we reach the agricultural steppe, a treeless land,
susceptible of cultivation, though lacking in the ricli, deep loam
of the black zone. Farther south lie the vast barren steppes,
in the west a sandy desert, in the east a vast saline plain, for-
merly the bed of a great lake, of which the Caspian and Aral
seas formed a small part. This is the genuine steppe, a country
level as the sea, without even a gentle undulation or a particle
of cultivation — neither tree nor bush, nor even a stone, to diversify
the monotonous expanse. The inhabitants lead a nomadic life,
like those of the Arctic region.

The very diversity of the country and the occupations of the
people of Russia tend to unity, for the north needs the grain of
the south, and the south requires the wood of the north. Middle
Russia, that great center of manufactures, without the north and
south would lack markets for its manufactures.

MOUNTAINS.

The greatest extent of upland in Russia is near Great Nov-
gorod, southwest of St. Petersburg, where the Valdai hills rise
from 800 to 1,000 feet.

RUSSIA IX EUROPE

III the east the Ural mountains separate Russia from Siberia,
a range of plateaus rather than mountains, attaining an eleva-
tion of from 3,000 to 5,000 feet, extending from the Arctic ocean
south about 1,200 miles. They are rich in metals — gold, precious
stones, iron, and coal — with large and productive mines. In
the southeastern part of Russia are the Caucasian mountains,
separating Europe from Asia and running from the Black to the
Caspian seas, about 600 miles in length and 150 in width. The
culminating point is mount Elburz, 18,572 feet above the sea
level, 3,000 feet higher than Mont Blanc. Near the center of
the Caucasus is mount Kazbek, 16,552 feet, 1,000 feet higher
than Monte Rosa. These mountains are clothed with snow for
several thousand feet, and down their sides flow many glaciers.
The Russians have so little love of sceneiy -that they rarely make
excursions among these mountains or ascend Elburz, which,
though half a mile higher than Mont Blanc, is much easier of
ascent, because there is only a steady climb for several hours
over smooth, frozen snow.

Near Kazbek is the pass of Dariel, 8,000 feet in height, the only
carriage road through these mountains. In ancient times this
pass, called the “ gates of the Caucasus,” was guarded by Tartar
towers, which still stand, thousands of years old, overlooking the
pass. Until Russia conquered the northern part of Persia, the
two sides were never held by the same power.

At the southeastern extremity of the Caucasus, on the Caspian
sea, at Baku, there stands an old temple, where for centuries a
beacon was kept burning by the fire-worshipers of India and
Persia. The people in the olden time believed that the fire was
supernatural — the gift of the god of fire. Modern science shoAvs
that it came from oil wells, and modern enterprise has here de-
veloped a great industry. The old temple of the fire-worshipers
remains; on one side of it are huge derricks, ijumping tlie oil ;
on the other, a great stone embankment, stretching over a mile
along the coast, where steam and sailing vessels and long trains
of railroad cars load Avith oil. Here is a population of fifty
thousand, Avhere tAventy years ago Avere less than fifteen hun-
dred. The Parsee tending the fire symbolizes the past; the
Russian Avith his oil Avells, his railroads, and steamboats, the
future. The petroleum is used for fuel on the Caspian and Volga
steamers. It is sent up the Volga and its branches to all jiarts
of Russia and is carrietl by rail from Baku to Batoum, on the

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]^lack sea, and thence )jy steamer to different parts of Europe.
It has superseded American oil in Russia and competed with
it in Vienna and Berlin until consolidation of the American and
Russian interests was made. In 1893 Baku alone produced
33,104,000 gallons, a production largeh^ exceeding that of either
of the two great oil-fields of America.

Another range of mountains, or rather a continuation of tlie
Caucasus, runs across the Crimea. This range protects the
coast on the southeastern side from the cold winds of the north,
and here are Livadia and Yalta, where the late Czar died — the
only places in all Russia Avhere there is an equable climate like
that of Nice and Mentone. The road from Livadia crosses this
chain of mountains through a pass about 3,000 feet in height,
with views of the Black sea resembling those of the Mediterra-
nean near Amalfi, and then descends to Balaklava and Sebas-
to])ol, where the winter winds from the Arctic blow unljroken
by any mountains.

EIVER SYSTEM.

In the plateau of the Valdai the principal rivers of Russia
rise. The Volga and its branches flow east and south to the
Caspian sea ; the Dnieper and Don to the Black sea ; others
northwest to the Baltic. Russia is so level that its rivers are
slow and sluggish, with little water except during the melting
of snows. They are connected Avith each other and Avith the
gulf of Finland and the Arctic ocean by canals, so that inter-
communication betAveen different parts of the country is easy
in the summer. The rivers that emj)ty into the Arctic ocean
and into the Black and Caspian seas have several mouths, so
that navigation from the river into the sea is A’ery difficult.

There are 33,000 miles of naA’igable rivers, 81,000 vessels of
various kinds, and 138,000 rafts.

CLIM.A.TE.

In its climate, as in extent, conformation, and population,
Russia differs from the other countries of Europe. These are
bathed by the Avarm Avinds from the Atlantic and ^Mediterranean.
The moisture of these Avinds is rapidly condensed as they pass
over the Alps and Carpathians and the mountains of Noiavay
and SAveden, the source of numerous rivers, and affording an
abundant supply of rain to Avestern Europe. These Avinds then

RUSSIA IN EUROPE

blow over Russia, but they have become cUy, without moisture ;
consequently the rainfall of western Russia is only about twenty
or twenty-five inches, or half that of western Europe. This
steadily diminishes toward the east, leaving the steppes of east-
ern Russia dry and barren, unless irrigated. The tem])erature
diminishes rapidly from the west to the east. North of 50°,
or far south of Moscow, it diminishes more rapidly from the
west to the east than from the south to the north.

Over the vast plain of Russia the winds blow without obstruc-
tion. The cold winter winds bring from the Arctic ocean the
temperature of the polar regions, while the warm summer winds
from the Black sea convey the temperature of the torrid zone.
Spring and autumn are almost unknown, for as soon as the frost
is gone, about the middle of April or the first of May, the wheat
and grain fields and the foliage of the trees burst forth with a
rapidit}' unknown in our country.

RACES.

Although Russia is one of the most uniform and level of
countries, yet few are occupied by as great a variety of races.
Southern and middle Russia were for centuries the great high-
ways over which vast numbers of barbaric hordes — Scythians,
Huns, Mongols, and Vandals — passed from Asia through Russia
into Italy, Hungaiy, Poland, Germany, and by the Dari el pass
over the Caucasus into Asia Minor. Some of each of these
tribes remained ; all left their impress U{)on Russia. While
these tribes were overrunning Russia the Slavonians came, to-
day the ]>redominant race, the last of the Aryans to leave their
original home, ai\il these retained when they entered Russia
many Asiatic habits. In the fifth and sixth centuries they prol)-
ably occu[)ied the region now known as “ Little Russia” and were
the germ of the great Russian empire. ^Vhen the Slavonians
entered Russia they found Mongols, Finns, and Huns; with
.some they intermarried; others they pushed into northern and
Arctic Russia, a region without temptation for the Aryan or other
Avandering tribes.

From the Avest came the Northmen, Avho settled the country
about the Baltic sea and founded NoA'gorod the Great, tlie oldest
toAvn in Russia, and brought many of the customs and habits
of western Europe. In the fifteenth century NoA'gorod was the
largest and most important town in northern Euroj)c and a

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member of the Hanseatic league. It lost its independence and
was overthrown hy Ivan the Terrible in 1570, and Novgorod as
an independent State ceased to exist and is now a town of little
importance.

In the thirteenth century the ^Mongol Tartars entered eastern
Russia and for over 200 years, from 1238 to 1462, ruled, mingling
their blood with the Russians. They in turn were conquered
by the Russians and driven from central Russia into the valley
of the Volga and the Crimea, where their descendants still live.

In the seventeentli century Poland, then one of the largest
countries of Europe, undertook the conquest of Russia, and for
some years there was a life-and-death struggle between the two
nations. Moscow was captured and the king of Poland reigned
there for thirteen years. The people of Nijni Novgorod the
Great arose, selling their wives and daughters to buy arms, took
Moscow, burning a large part of it, and finally expelled the
Poles, but not until they had mingled their blood with the Rus-
sian. This was the last invasion of Russia that left its impress
on the country.

The Great Russians, the inhabitants of the black zone in north-
ern and central Russia, are the most numerous of the poioulation
of Russia, In the northwest they intermarried and mingled with
the Finns ; in the east with the Mongol Tartars. In southern
Russia the inhabitants called Little Russians intermarried with
the Cossacks and Crimean Tartars and are next in number to
the Great Russians. The Cossacks are Russians who preferred
the nomadic to the agricultural life, and therefore wandered into
the steppes away from civilization and formed bands of horse-
men, called often by the country in which they lived, as the Don
Cossacks. They resemble in some respects the cowboys of
America. They occupied the Crimea and the country north
of the Black sea, with Tartar tribes from Turania, Kalmucks,
and Bashkirs.

Besides the races named, there are Turanians, Armenians,
Poles, Semites, Georgians, and Turks — in all, thirty different
races — with Greek, Catholic, Shumanistic, Buddhist, Jewish,
Mohammedans, Dissenters and pagan religions of all kinds.
These various races formerly intermarried, but the introduction
of the ^Mohammedan religion among the Tartar trilies has pre-
vented further mingling of these various races and has proved
a great obstacle to their elev'^ation and civilization. I was struck

RUSSIA IN EUROPE

with the variet}’’ of races at a dinner in Piatigorsk, a watering
place at the foothills of the Caucasus, given by an officer of the
Pussian army. My host was a German; the other guests, his
fellow-officers, were a Pole, a Jew, an Armenian, a Caucasian, a
Georgian, a Tartar, a Mongolian, and, finally, a Russian,

In a Tartar and Russian village there is no blending of races.
Near one end stands the Mohammedan mosque ; at the other
the Christian temple. In Finnish villages, on the oth^r hand,
intermarriages of the Finns and Russians is causing the blend-
ing of the two races.

CH.\RACTERISTICS OF THE POPULATION.

Russia in Europe, with a population of nearly 100,000,000, is
very thinly populated, having only fifteen inhabitants to the
square kilometer, while Germany has seventy-eight and England
one hundred and fourteen. The population is increasing at a
more rapid rate than in either of these countries.

A recent writer says : “ The life that men live in the city gives
the type and measure of their civilization. The word civiliza-
tion means the manner of life of the civilized part of the com-
munity— that is, of the city men, not of the country men, who
are called rustics.” The cities of Russia, except St. Petersburg,
are small, far apart, and have little connection with each other
or influence on the population. The Russian peasant has there-
fore little knowledge either of city life or of this civilization. He
lives far removed from it, and there is little of it in Russia. Only
one-third as many in proportion to population live in the cities
of Russia as in the cities of the United States.

Two-thirds of the population, including all the Great and Little
Russians, live in the black zone, with Moscow as a center. It
is estimated that over six-eighths of these are either serfs them-
selves or are the children of serfs, while 6,000,000 of the re-
mainder are Poles and 2,000,000 .Jews.

It is impossible that in one generation such a population of
freedmen should have made any considerable advance. Their
life and habits are, therefore, mainly such as they were as serfs.
It should also be borne in mind that while these are descendants
from Aryans, yet this blood has from time to time and in very
mau}'^ generations ])oen mingled with the blood of the Asiatics,
and therefore with nations less civilized.

The highly civilized man makes nature subordinate to his

RUSSIA IX EUROPE

convenience and necessities, but with uncivilized nations nature
dominates and man becomes subject to its influence. The char-
acter and habits of the Russians are therefore largely fashioned
by their environments, which vary little in different localities.

Russia has only two seasons, summer and winter. During
the long Arctic winter the people are without occu])ation, save
the tending of flocks morning and night ; the days are short and
sunless y*tlie nights long; the houses, Avithout ventilation, are
hot and close ; the air bad. Even in my room, in the largest and
best hotel in St. Petersburg, the windows in early November
Avere sealed so tight that a breath of air could not get in. The
rooms Avere heated by steam, Avhich could not be shut off, and
the only ventilation Avas by a small hole in the Avail, through
Avhich a little fresh air could enter. The peasants Avear the same
clothes night and da}' ; all sleep together on the large stoves, and
are required by their ])riests to bathe every Saturday evening,
using the vapor bath instead of soap. A large room or cave is
dug in the earth and heated very hot ; here they sit or lie doAvn ;
fan themselves Avith a Avhisk brush ; a profuse perspiration opens
and cleanses the pores of the skin ; they then often plunge into
an icy stream or bathe in cold Avater. They lead idle, listless lives
in winter, and Avhen Avinter ends are little inclined to Avork. Then
folloAv the long, hot summer days, the heat fully as enervating as
the bitter cold. Without mental or bodily activity, they become
heavy and lethargic. Their food for generations has been mea-
ger, of the poorest kind, almost entirely vegetal, and unsuitable
to the climate. Those avIio survive to mature age have great
})OAver of endurance, Avhich often becomes stolid stubbornness or
passive courage and resignation. They are gentle-hearted, have
little imagination, and therefore no inventive faculty. Every
peasant, Avhether man or Avoman, Avears a shee[>skin in Avinter,
bright colors in summer, the garment of nomadic triVjes, not
Avorn by any other Euroi)ean race. They have little desire to
rule others, or to make the tril)es Avhom they conquer subserv-
ient, and are therefore admirably fitted for the Avork of })eaceful
agricultural colonization. Wages are very Ioav. Tlie manager
of the telegraph service of one section of Russia, Avith twenty-
tAVO offices under him, told us that his salary Avas 1,100 rubles,
or about S550, a year ; that the operators Avere on duty tAventy-
four hours every other day and received 15 rubles, or 87.50,
a month. Wallace tells us that “ a family of five, man and

RUSSIA IX EUROPE

.wife, boy, and two daughters, actually lived in the northern
part of Russia on sixty-one dollars a year.” There are few rail-
roads in Russia, no stage-coaches, few daily and weekly pa])ers,
neither magazines nor books, for the peasantry can neither read
nor write. They have little more knowledge of the nearest vil-
lage than we have of the moon.

We can scarce!}^ comprehend such a people or such a life and
are not surprised to learn that they resort to cards and drink as
the only relief from the dullness of the interminable winter.
They never hurry, for time is not money. Among professional
men and merchants in St. Petersburg business does not com-
mence until after breakfast, at 11 or 12 o’clock; with dinner at 6
o’clock, little time is left for work, but a long evening for cards.

A t}"pical Russian village consists of two lines of houses, one
on either side of the street, each house, built of pine logs, stand-
ing alone, from ten to one hundred making a village ; each cabin
is like its fellow except in size ; when you have seen one you
have seen all. The floor is of earth ; the walls, rough logs, the
crevices stuffed with moss, without paint — the type of houses in
England in the time of Queen Elizabeth. At one end of the vil-
lage is the cruciform church, of an oriental aspect, a dome gilded
and painted in bright colors, surmounted by a gilt cross. We
visited Rostoflf, the center of a large commerce with the interior of
Russia, a city with a population of 50,000, at the mouth of the
Don, inhabited by Russians and Cossacks. It has a large casino,
containing a ball-room, gai'dens, billiaixl and refreshment rooms,
where all grades of society assemble on Sunday to dance and
hold parties of pleasure. We spent two hours here and took a
drosky drive to the town about a mile distant. It is a long, dirty,
.straggling, unkempt village, with broad streets, paved in the time
of Peter tlie Great, apparently never repaired since his death ; the
onl v difference in the streets is that some are worse than others ; a
few large stores and a great market place, with bread enough for
an army ; potatoes, quantities of beautiful-looking tomatoes, egg-
plants, gra})es, and pears. The place looked as though it had
considerable trade, l>ut is devoid of all interest. A\'e saw no new
or fine buildings; only old and dilapidated houses.

In Russia there is no nnddle class and little intercourse be-
tween the officials, who are the highest clas.s — the nobles, who
are the upper class — and the peasants. They live in a world as
distinct as Europe and Asia. 'I'he ui)per class follow the customs

RUSSIA IX EUROPE

and manners of the west. Formerly they used the German lan-»
guage, then tlie French, taking from France liberal ideas, but now
Ivussian is the language of the court and has been adopted in
polite society. The upper classes are as highly cultivated, as
honorable, and as polished as any of the upper classes in
Europe.

The peasantry, recently serfs, in their feelings and habits are
Asiatics, fliithful to ancient manners and customs. They look
upon innovation or change with distrust. St. Petersburg is the
type of the new ideas, IMoscow of the old.

We now turn to northern and Arctic Russia, a country with
inhabitants very different from that we have just described. In
the west is Finland, formerl}" subject to Sweden, but annexed to
Russia in 1800. The name and origin of the Finns is an ethno-
logical problem. They are supposed to be of the same race as
the Hungarian and Bashkirs. In summer the sun’s rays are
nearly constant, and the growth of vegetation continuous and
ra})id.

The people are tall, strongly built, and well proportioned, with
faces rather square than oval. They are slow, dull, grateful and
honest, industrious and energetic. Their peculiar language and
literature have attracted much attention, and although writing
seems to have been introduced onl}'- al)out three hundi*ed years
ago and printing about one hundred years later, yet nearly all
can read and write.

In the written language phonetic spelling is employed with
almost perfect consistenc3^ One celebrated linguist says, “ it is
the most harmonious and sonorous of tongues.” The}’’ are better
educated, more highly civilized, and are improving more rajndly
than the Russians. Serfdom was never introduced into Finland,
and the Finns boast that the}’’ have never had a slave nor a noble
in all their land. From these causes, while we regard the Rus-
sians as Asiatics, we must look upon tlie Finns as Europeans.
Northeast of Finland, on the Arctic circle, and hir to the north
of it, wliere the shore-line stretches from Archangel toward the
sunrise fifteen hundred miles, bound in ice chains for eight
months of the year, where on the cliffs and ledges the snow
never melts, a wandering tribe, sometimes called Samoyeds,
live in a desert of ice and snow — a land without a road, with-
out a field, without a name. Tlieir dwellings are tents l)uilt
of poles, open at the to]> to let out the smoke, and covered

RUSSIA IN EUROPE

with loose reindeer skins, secured by thongs of seal and walrus
hide; within are small compartments, the whole warmed by a
fire in the center of the tent and a seal-oil lamp in each com-
partment. They own herds of reindeer, which alone make
the region habitable. In summer they move frequently for
food to fresh pastures of green moss, on which the reindeer
feed, and on them the wild men of the country live, eating their
food without cooking. In the winter they draw near the shore
and live on seal and cod. They hunt the squirrel and fox and
sell their skins to the Russians, and thus purchase a few of the
necessaries of life. Their only arms are the bow and arrow. The
Samoyeds are believed by some to be Finns, who, forced far
into the Arctic -region, have degenerated and lost most of the
peculiar habits of the Finns.

South of the agricultural zone we come to a third civilization,
to another and different life, in the lands of the southwest
and in the saline steppes in the southeast. These were inhab-
ited by Cossacks, Tartars, Bashkirs, Kalmucks, and other no-
madic tribes, who wandered over the steppes to find pasture
for their cattle.

Among these tribes one hundred years ago Catherine II
planted colonies of Germans to cultivate the land, establish set-
tlements, intermingle and intermarry with the people, and in-
troduce agriculture, thrift, and habits of industry. This experi-
ment failed, for the Germans have lived almost entirely among
themselves, and, while acquiring many of the bad habits of the
people, have done little toward improving them. Since the law
compelled the Cossacks and Tartars to live in fixed habitations
many have migrated intoTurania, Armenia, and Turkey in Asia,
while from Armenia and Turkey Armenians, Greeks, Druses, and
other Christians have come and.'built flourishing towns and cities
on the Black and Aral seas and river Volga. These new settlers
are the most industrious and prosperous of the Russians, and
immigration will continue as long as these countries are under
Mohammedan rule. Before the emancipation of the serf, in
1861, the ])atriarchal system prevailed, under which each family
was its ))roducerand consumer. Since then manufactures have
rapidly increased and have nearly doubled the last twelve years.
The mining interest has also increased with like rapidity ; the
annual production of the mines is $67,000,000.

The mercantile or trading class and the manufacturers, usually

RUSSIA IX EUROPE

the most im])ortaiit and influential, are in Russia less in pro-
portion tlian in other civilized countries, and have little influ-
ence, either witli tlie peasants, as they represent western ideas,
or with the nobles, avIio look down upon them as traders.

This completes a general enumeration of the inhabitants of
Russia. We have described the lives of tlie hunters and fisher-
men of the north, of the agricultural laborers of central Russia,
of the nomadic po})ulation of southern and southeastern Russia,
and the mercantile or trading class and the manufacturers, who
live around Moscow and Tula.

• Under one czar, Vladimir the Holy, the peasants could change
their religion ; under another, Peter the Great, they could change
their dress, but time alone can change the Asiatic to the Euro-
pean.

The black zone of Russia is as rich as the prairies of America ;
the lands cost no more; yet the inhabitants of Austria and Ger-
many, contiguous to this fertile land, immigrate four thousand
miles to the prairies of America rather than cross the boundary
line into this rich zone. One reason for their preferring America
is that in Russia they will be called upon to serve in the army.
While this is undoubtedly one cause for their preference of
America, yet, as the Germans and Russians have never mingled
when they have been brought into contact, it is probable that
the difference in the habits and customs of the two races — the
one European, the other Asiatic — has as much, if not more, in-
fluence in preventing the Germans from emigrating to Russia.

GOVERNMENT.

The diversity of races and languages was formerly much
greater than at present, when each tribe had its ovm laws, re-
ligion and customs, more or less barbarous, but in all the pa-
ternal form of government. The head of the family and chief of
th^ tribe had absolute power over the family and tribe ; the
czar a like absolute power over all the tribes. The czar is the
head of the government, and the peasants believe him to be aj>-
pointed by God to be their father and ruler. A republican form
of government once e.xisted in Novgorod the Great, and also at
Pskoff, but these republics, after enduring one or Uvo hundi*ed
years, were attacked by wandering triljes from the Orient and by
armed bands from Germany, Sweden and Poland. For the

BCSSIA IX EUROPE

purpose of repellinp; these invasions these cities were forced to
unite with various tribes of Russia and form a strong imperial
government under a czar.

Peter tlie Great organized municipal governments for towns
and cities after the model of the German free cities, but these
institutions having no root in the traditions and habits of tlie
people, it has been impossil)le to maintain them or .to interest
the people in them.

For many generations there has been no convocation or as-
semblage of the people. The entire civilization has been Asiatic,
differing greatly from that of the west. There was formerly no
attempt either at uniformity in the government of the different
provinces and nationalities or of symmetry in the administra-
tion. There were not only territorial peculiarities, but different
systems in the same territory. Changes in the laws were fre-
quently made, but they Avere only local.

The idea of an united Russia belongs to Czar Ivan Kalita, Avho
reigned in the middle of the fourteenth, century, though Peter
the Great was the first to realize the necessity of a uniform and
central administration if Russia was to become a great nation.
He tried to bring order out of chaos and to inti’oduce Avestern
civilization among the barbarous and oriental tribes of Russia,
and, as there Avere no persons qualified for official positions,
schools Avere formed to train men for office. Peter the Great had
untiring zeal, perseverance, great ability, and genius. He tried
many experiments, but frankly admitted their failure, and died,
having overthroAvn many institutions, but Avithout creating a
system. His successors took up the Avork and carried it forward,
each according to his ability, and by sIoav degrees they have
created a centralized government, Avith a certain uniformity in its
administration. There are ranks of nobility, but, unlike those
of Avestern Europe, the nobles have no [)olitical poAver or right
of primogeniture. All their children are of equal rank, so that
nobles are found among the drosky drivers of >St. Petersburg ;
their influence de[)ends solely on Avealth and personal character.

A council and ministers or secretaries for the different de[)art-
ments of government have been established, but there is neither
uniformity of action betAveen the council and ministers nor
betAveen the several members of the council or ministry. For
the i)urpose of obtaining fuller information and from a greater
variety of sources, the czar, in important matters, often ap})oints

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committees to examine and report directly to him and advise
what action, if any, shall be taken.

There is a code of laws, full of commentaries, with a vast num-
l)er of orders, decrees, and statutes issued by the czar at differ-
ent times and under different circumstances; also innumerable
circulars, open and secret, general, special, and local, forming a
tangled growth, so that it is impossible to decide either what the
law is or what are the rights of the individual. It is difficult for
the czar or his ministers to know how far an order has been
executed, for with a censorship of the press it is impossible for
either the people or the ruler to know much of the conduct of
affairs.

Russia is divided into eighty-five governments and six terri-
tories of different areas and population, over each of which is a
governor, responsible to the czar, and a council, wdth a strong
centralized administration. The power of the governor is nearly
as absolute and unlimited in his territory as that of the czar
over the whole empire. Each government is divided into dis-
tricts. The governor appoints officials in the various districts,
who are responsible to him, and these officials appoint jDolice
officers in the several villages, responsible only to them. The
salaries of the lower officers are very small, and as thej’’ are
barely sufficient for their support this has led to more or less
corruption, although in Russia, as in other countries, embezzle-
ment has not been confined to any class or rank. This was
greatly lessened under the late czar, Alexander III, in the cen-
tral government and in the great administrations.

THE MIR.

In Great and Little Russia, Avherever the Slav inhaliits, the vil-
lage community, called the mir, has been persistent and exists
today in a form not widely different from that which prevailed
in ancient Arya and all over Europe and Asia. There are
, 107,493 of these communes in Russia. All the land is held
by the mir, owned in common, and is divided into three })or-
tions — arable, forest, and pasture. The homes are all in the
village. The fields, cut into long, narrow strips, are periodically
divided among the families, so that each family shall have strips
according to its size and numbers. There is a redistribution
every few years. Nearly all the women and the greater part of
the men are engaged in the cultivation of the land. All the

RUSSIA IN EUROPE

affairs and business of the mir are regulated in a council, com-
posed of the adult men and of the adult women when heads of
a famil3^ This village assembly has power to try and punish
criminals, and can even send them to Siberia. It is the only
government of which the vast majority of Russians have any
experience or in which they take an interest. The peasant gov-'
crning the world in which he lives does not concern himself
with the unseen and far away.

The mir, with the exception of community of property and
judicial authority, is the counterpart of the New England town
meeting, the corner-stone of our republican institutions.

The brightest men leave the commune and go to the cities to
work as artisans, but they must first obtain permission from the
mir, return to it when ordered, and send a part of their earnings
to the village treasury or forfeit all their interest in the com-
munal property and all connection with their ancestral home
and kindred. The land and property being held in common
affords little opportunity for that struggle for wealth and a better
and higher life absolutely necessary for progress. It is indeed
a communistic, socialistic system, which some, even in our day,
propose to engraft upon our life.

Within fifteen or twenty years the power of the mir has been
greatly limited by the establishment of the provincial govern-
ment, with its police officer, the representative of provincial
government, the police having much greater jDower in his vil-
lage than formerly.

SERFDOM.

Serfdom and slavery, unknown in Russia before the fifteenth
century, originated from several i)eculiar causes. Prior to the
conquest of Russia by the Tartars, in the thirteenth century, the
condition of the peasants of Russia and western Europe was
in many respects very dissimilar. Russia never felt the bene-
fits either of Roman law and civilization or of the Roman Cath-
olic church ; neither the influence of large towns with municipal
rights and privileges nor of the feudal system. The Teutons had
a sturdy independence and asserted their rights, while the most
enterprising of the Russians, having a i)redisi>osition to a vagrant
life, preferred to seek independence l)y wandering away from
tlieir communes, forming Cossack bands. This vagrancy was in-
creased under the Tartar rule, when the ])resent Asiatic dress of
sheei)skin was adoi>ted and other Asiatic habits accpiired.

PRUSSIA IX EUPOPE

Another marked difference between eastern and western
Europe, which also led to serfdom, arose from the ownership
of the land, in Avestern Europe held in comparatively small par-
cels and divided between the church, the nobles, and the people,
Avhile in Russia the Czar, as owner of all the land, gave great
ffracts to a few families or to religious houses, retaining the re-
mainder ; hut these gifts were of little value Avhile the peasantry
were allowed to roani Avherever and whenever they i)leased.

LaAVS Avere passed to remedy tliis evil by confining the peas-
antiy to certain parts of the countiy, and subsequently to the
estates Avhere thcA' lived. Conscription of the serfs for the army
Avas then introduced, the proprietor Avas made responsible for the
entry of the conscript into the army, and from that arose the obli-
gation of the serf to the master. As the serf could only he profit-
ably employed on the rich black lands around Moscoav and Kief,
the number of serfs diminished Avith the distance from the
black zone, Avhile in the extreme north and the steppes of the
south it never existed. They either Avorked three days in the
week for their masters, having the rest of the Aveek for them-
selves, or they gaA^e a corresponding portion of their crops, or
else one-half of their Avages to their masters. It Avas by sIoav
degrees, subsequent to 1450, that serfdom Avas established and
the serfs became ])ersonal property. With this right of projAcrty
came control of life and limb, and these successive changes,
often regulated by hiAvs passed for the relief of the serf, generally
resulted in binding his chains tighter.

The act of emancipation in 1861 liberated 49,486,000 serfs, of
Avhom 23,022,000 belonged to the nobles ; 23,138,000 to the state,
and 3,326,000 to the departments.

A portion of the land OAvned by the state and of that OAvned
by the nobles and religious houses Avas by the act of emancipa-
tion given to the serfs. The government paid the nobles and
religious houses sums fixed by arbitration for the lands surren-
dered by them, while the serfs paid the state for the land given
to them by annual payments running over fifty years, secured by
the land and also by the other property of the serfs. The last
of these payments Avill not be due until the early part of the
next century. Even noAv 40 per cent of the land is OAvned^hy
the state, 2 per cent by the imperial family, 33 per cent by the
peasantry, and 25 per cent by private owners.

RUSSIA IN EUROPE

EDUCATION.

There has never been any national system of education in
Russia. Many noble and wealthy families have English nurses
and French or German tutors. The children are taught to speak
French, English, and German and formerl}’- were often better
educated in those languages than in their native tongue.

There are nine universities in Russia, with between fifteen and
eighteen thousand students, who are mostly from poor families
and often support themselves by teaching. They strongly de-
sire to reform the government, but are ignorant of any other way
of accomplishing their object than by its overthrow. They have
therefore become nihilists, hoping to improve the people with-
out realizing how much evil they do. They have converted
the universities into hot-beds of nihilism. The government has
consequently subjected the students to very strict regulations,
not only in their study but in their life outside as well as within
the university, the tendency now being to restrict instruction and
confine it to specified lines.

In addition to these nine universities, there are medical and
professional schools for engineers, electricians, and mechanics,
not included in the above enumeration. Each of the eighty-five
governments has a grammar or high school, and the pupils on
graduating from these schools can enter the higher seminaries.

There are also secondary common schools and gymnasiums,
with 2,o00,000 scholars, while there are 15,000,000 of school age.
Of every ten Russian men, two may be able to read, but of eveiy
ten Russian women, hardl}^ one. For the last ten years consider-
able sums have been appro|)riated by the government for edu-
cational purposes, and in 1893 $31,000,000 by the general and
local governments ; $175,000,000 a year were expended on the
arm}’- and $22,000,000 on the navy, while in the United States
$150,000,000 are annually expended for education.

Slight as are their educational privileges, and probably liecause
they are so slight, the ])eople have no desire for a better and
fuller system. Daring my stay at Nijni Novgorod I was invited
to go over the house of one of the wealthiest men in the ])lace.
It was a very magnificent house, with a broad marlde stairway
leading to the salon, the floor of which was mosaic and the hang-
ings fine tapestry. I visited every room in the house; in only
one did 1 see a book, ])aper, or Avriting materials of any kind,
and that was the children’s school-room. I was informed that

nUSSIA IN EUROPE

neither the master nor mistress could read or write, hut I was,
perhaps, misinformed. On leaving I kissed the hand of the lady
of the house, and in return she kissed rny forehead, the invari-
able custom in old Russian families in l)idding adieu to guests
with Avhom they were pleased. The family, I was informed,
lived in two or three small rooms, keeping the others for show
and an occasional party.

Within the present century Russia has developed a literature
of i^oetry and prose, history and romance, excelled by no other
nation. Few novels are more read today than those of Tour-
geniefF and Tolstoi and other Russian Avriters. Most of them
recount tales of Russia and Russian life, and have a Avide circu-
lation in other countries. The education of these Avriters and
their mental training have been essentially Russian, and their
Avritings, therefore, touch the heart of the Russian people, and
this has led a constantly increasing number to learn to read-
There is also a large number of folk songs and tales Avhich are
Avidely sung and recited among the jAeasantry. Science has also
made as rapid progress as belles-letters. There are no better
geologists and chemists in the world than the Russian, Avhile
other scientists are not far behind. In 1892, 9,588 books Avere
produced, with an aggregate of 30,000,000 copies.

THE FAIR AT NIJMI NOA^GOROD.

The geographical position of Nijni Novgorod is most favorable
as a gathering place for people from all parts of Russia and the
Orient. Situated at the junction of the Volga and Oka, it is
easily accessible by these rivers and their branches and canal
connections to people from all parts of Russia and from some
parts of Asia. It is also the nearest large city to the lowest
passes for caraA^ans between Russia and China. This position
makes Nijni NoA'gorod the natural place for the great fair of
Russia. These fairs Avere formerly held in all the countries of
Europe and Avere largel}’^ attended, but Avith good roads, steam-
boats, and railroads the necessity for them has ceased, excepting
in Russia and some parts of Asia.

In 1881 I visited the fair at Nijni NoA’^gorod. Held on Ioav,
flat ground opposite the city, for more than five hundred years
this fair, though not ahvays held at Nijni Novgorod, has l^een
the great mart of exchange for the products of Russia, Sil^eria,
China, Persia, Turania, and the Crimea. The fair is opened in

RUSSIA IN EUROPE

July and continues through August and September. Some of
the articles for sale are brought by rail, but most by barges or
steamboat. I counted fifty tugs from one point, while two or
three times as many were anchored in other parts of the river.

From Siberia are brought furs and diamonds, precious stones,
fine-toned bells, iron and wooden utensils, Siberian shoes, made
of felt, impervious to snow or water, heat or cold. From China
come caravan tea, worth $2.50 per pound, the finest tea that is
drunk, and brick tea, the poorest, worth only 15 cents per
pound. From Persia come precious stones, fruits, carpets, and
silks ; from Circassia, shawls, slippers, and oils ; cotton from
Khiva and Bokhara ; oil and wool from Astrakhan ; from west-
ern Russia, woolen, linen, and vast quantities of hardware, nails,
and steel, while Germany, France, and England sell their goods
by sample. There is a palace with salons for great and small
balls and dinners. There are streets with buildings and stores
of stone, brick, and iron. These were found insufficient, and
three thousand bazaars of a temporary nature are often erected.
The same merchants come year after year, and often from gen-
eration to generation, and occupy the same buildings. Some
come on horseback with their stores, others with steam-tugs
towing barges filled with merchandise. Near by on the rivpr
Oka are sheds, nearly a mile in length, filled with Siberian
iron, rolled, bar, and cast iron rods, plate iron, and boiler
plates, wire, hollow-ware, stoves, nails, and all descriptions of
rough iron-work. Here also are churches for all creeds — Rus-
sians, Chinese, Tartars, Buddhists, Catholics, and Lutherans.

After the fair is over, by the middle or last of September, the
place is deserted, stores and houses closed, the goods are taken
away, and not a soul is seen in the place where only a few days
before three or four hundred thousand people were gathered.
The bridge of boats which connects the fair-ground with Nijni
is taken down and removed for the winter.

TRAVELING.

The different methods of traveling show the habits and civiliza-
tion of a people. In the far north of Russia the sledge and tlie
reindeer are only used ; in Finland, steam or sail lioat or sledge.
Travel in summer by land is unusual ; they wait for sleighing
or go by boat. In central Russia they travel by railroad or

RUSSIA IX EUROPE

tarantass ; over the Caucasus and generally through the country
by tarantass.

In southeastern Russia the horse and camel are the sole means
of locomotion, and travel is generally l)y caravan. In several of
the large cities there are hotels, as in other parts of Euro])e, but
in tlie country hotels are unknown ; only rooms are furnished at
khans or caravansaries, as all travelers carry their servants, pro-
visions, bed, and bedding. Everywhere is found the samovar, a
large copper vessel, with a long tube or funnel extending to the
bottom, kept filled with charcoal, which when lighted smoulders
all day long, keeping the water hot day and night, ready for
making tea. In the conveyances for travel, in the hotels, and
in everything else outside the large cities Asiatic customs pre-
vail. There are regular stations where horses are kept, but they
cannot be obtained without a prodovoina — a paper signed by
the proper officer — which gives the traveler a right to claim the
horses at a price fixed in the paper, which is usually very low.

From Berlin to St. Petersburg and INIoscow the sleei)ers are
large, roonyv, and clean ; the accommodations for sleeping are
excellent ; the stations and restaurants are well appointed, large,
and handsome. After leaving Moscow, the first night we liad
pillow-cases and mattress in the sleepers, but no sheets ; the
second night neither pillow-cases nor mattress.

South of Moscow, when I was tliere the stations were poor,
without restaurants, and even without water for washing. M'e
reached Vladikavkaz at night and drove direct!}^ to a hotel
which we understood was kept by a Frenchman, but he had
left, and there was no one in the hotel, or apparently in the vil-
lage, who could speak either French, German, or English. For-
tunately we found a l)oy from one of the neighboring German
settlements who could speak German.

The next morning we started on our tri}>, through the Dariel
pass, across the Caucasus in a tarantass, a boat-shaped, covered
carriage without springs or seats, for the roads are so rough that
springs would soon break, without opportunit}" for repairs. We
leaned against our trunks in the back of the carriage, filled with
straw. We started with four horses abreast, dilven with six
reins, one to each of the outside horses and the other four to the
pole-horses. We drove rapidly, but were often delayed at post-
stations waiting for horses. While we were stopping, more than
once, an official drove up. Horses Avere immediately harnessed

RUSSIA IN EUROPE

and he drove on, although we had been told that there were no
horses in the stables. We took a few provisions with us and
found something to eat at one or two of the stations. At night
there was only one common room, where all lodged and slept
on the floors or benches, and as this is also used as a waiting-
room for travelers by night while their horses are being changed,
there was little opportunity for sleeping. The Russians carry
their own beds and provisions, but we were not so fortunate, and
so were obliged to lie on the boards, with straw for our beds.

At the end of the second day we were over the mountains and
in Asia. We stopped at the post-station. Our provisions were
gone, and we could get nothing at the station but a samovar with
hot water ; so, late at night, we drove on to Tiflis, a city of over
one hundred thousand inhabitants.

Through Tiflis the river Kur runs, with beautiful views of
mount Kazbek and the snow peaks of the Caucasus to the north.
Steep banks on either side divide the city into two parts, the one
new, with fine boulevards, European civilization, and handsome
houses, occupied solely by Russian officials ; the other, the old
part, on hilly ground, inhabited by Persians, Armenians, Geor-
gians, and others from the many different tribes of the Caucasus.
Here are bazaars like those of Constantinople, Cairo, or Damas-
cus, where goods from all parts of the Orient are sold.

CONCLtSION.

Many causes have been and are still at work that must arouse
the Russians. Tlie first great impulse arose in the early part of
the iH’esent century, during the Napoleonic wars, when the Rus-
sian armies gathered from all parts of the kingdom, marched to
Berlin and Vienna, and mingled with the armies of Prussia and
Austria. Then came the invasion of Russia by Napoleon, the
burning of Moscow, followed l)y the second march of the Rus-
sian armies through Europe, and their entry into Paris in 1814,
in each case coming home with enlarged vision and new ideas.
Second, the introduction of steamboats on the rivers; third, the
Crimean war and fall of Sebastopol, which aroused tlie ruling
class to the ncce.ssity for railroads and better intercommunica-
tion between the different parts of the empire, and led to the
construction of three lines of railroad from the north to the south
through the length of Russia, and three lines from its western to

2(3

nUSSlA IX EUROPE

its eastern boundary, thus inviting the people to travel from
place to i^lace and to see more of the world; fourth, as a second
result of the Crimean war was the freedom of the serfs in 1861
from a slavery of one hundred and fifty years ; fifth, the con-
struction of the railroad across the Ural mountains to Siberia^
and its subsequent extension east, through the southern part of
the country, to the Pacific, through the rich agricultural region
of Siberia ; sixth, the trans-Caspian conquest and the construc-
tion of the railroad along the borders of Persia and Afghanistan,
across the desert and the river Oxus to Samarcand, opening up
several countries and a large population to the manufactures
and commerce of Russia ; thus a large and profitable commerce
has been created or diverted from England to Russia, which
must greatly benefit Russia and trans-Caspia ; seventh, the ex-
port of grain and petroleum from Russia to Europe, which is
rapidly increasing, and the money obtained in exchange niust
greatly benefit the Russian farmer.

The destinies of Asia are in the hands of Russia and England,
and are more intimately connected with Russia than with Eng-
land, for the Russians have greater affinity with the Asiatics
than the English, their influence over them is greater, and the
Asiatics are more easily reconciled to the government of Russia
than to that of the English.

This contact and intercourse tend to develop both Asiatics and
Russians. The day of awakening, of progress, of education, of
prosperity to the Russian peasant is sure to come ; but whether
this civilization shall be that of Europe and America or Asia and
China is uncertain. Russia, with her empire extending from the
Atlantic to the Pacific, Avill become the leading nation of the
Orient.

NAT. GEOG. MAG.

VOL. VII, 1896, PL II.

U. S. REVENUE-MARINE STEAMER “ BEAR ” MOORED TO A FIELD OF ICE IN BERING SEA.

ARCTIC CRUISE OF THE REVENUE CUTTER ^‘BEAR^^ 27

THE ARCTIC CRUISE OF THE UNITED STATES
REVENUE CUTTER “BEAR”

By Dr Sheldon Jackson, United States General Agent of Edu-
cation in Alaska

Expeditions to the Arctic have alwa}^s had a fascination for
mankind. From the early voyages of the Norsemen down
through the successive expeditions of Davis, Baffin, and Ross to
that of Peary the world has honored the men who have braved
the dangers of the Arctic in voyages of discovery lasting from
one to three years, but little account has been made of the
whalers who have encountered these same dangers for many
3’ears in succession, and particularly of the United States reve-
nue cutter service that has annually ventured into these icy re-
gions for sixteen years past. The service began in 1880 with the
sending of the little cutter Corwin into the Arctic in search of
the Jeannette, and an Arctic cruise has been made each season
since that time. In 1883 the steamer Bear, after the rescue of
General Greely and party of the Lady Franklin bay expedition,
was turned over to the United States Treasury Department and
detailed for the Arctic service. She is a barquentine-rigged
steamer, 198 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 18.5 feet deep, with a
capacity of 714 tons. She was built at Greenock, Scotland, for
the Dundee sealing and whaling fleet, and is .an excellent sea
boat — in fact the best in the Arctic ocean for work in the ice.
The commanding officer from 1884 to the present time has been
Captain Michael A. Healy, an officer justlv^ rendered famous by
his long, successful, and in many ways remarkable service in the
dangerous waters of Arctic Alaska.

The annual cruise of the Bear to the Arctic ocean is unique in
its multifarious duties and its practical usefulness. In addition
to the ordinary duties of a revenue cutter in protecting the in-
terests of the customs, more particularly Ijy the prevention of
smuggling l)y the whaling fleet, this steamer has performed the
duty of a traveling life-saving station. During these twelve
years it has rescued from the l)leak and sterile coast of western
and Arctic Alaska a thousand shipwrecked whalers and desti-
tute mariners. Not a season passes without one or more whalers

28 ARCTIC CRUISE OF THE REVENUE CUTTER ^‘BEAR'^

being wrecked and relief being furnished by the Bear. In addi-
tion to affording relief to the whaling fleet in times of disaster
and peril, its record is equally brilliant in the protection of thou-
sands of half-civilized natives from the rai)acity of the white
man and the demoralization that comes from the white man’s
rum. Along vast stretches of coast ( from 10,000 to 12,000 miles)
unknown to civilization, the flag of the revenue steamer is the
only evidence of the authority of the Government that is ever
seen and the only protection ever afforded. The cruiser Bear also
furnishes the only medical attendance which the natives living
along thousands of miles of coast ever receive. In 1890 the
importance of its annual cruise was still further increased by its
affording transportation to the United States general agent of
education in Alaska in his establishment and supervision of
Government schools in western and Arctic Alaska, and in 1891
still another addition was made to its usefulness by its being
employed in the transportation of domestic reindeer from Siberia
to Alaska. Its visits to the native villages upon the American
coast and the search for reindeer along the coast of Siberia bring
it into. many bays and regions little known to the geogra})hic
world. During the establishment of schools and the introduc-
tion of domestic reindeer into Alaska the writer was enabled,
by the permission of the Secretary of the Treasury and the
courtesy of Captain Healy, to make five consecutive annual
cruises along the Arctic coasts of Siberia and Alaska. The work
being now well under way, his place was this season taken by
the assistant agent, Mr William Hamilton. The cruise of the
Bear in 1895 was over much the same course as in previous years.

After }»atrolling the North Pacific during IMay and June the
Bear left the wharf at Dutch harbor, Unalaska, on June 24 for
her Arctic trip. The next day she sighted through the fog first
St. George island and then St. Paul. The sea being too rough
to land, the ship pushed on to the northwest, passing St. IMat-
thew island on June 26, and reaching anchorage at St. Law-
rence island on June 28. Very soon the natives swarmed on
board, bringing tidings that IMr and Mrs Gamble, in charge of
the Government school on the island, were in excellent health
and had had a very successful year. A sewing machine aftid a
cabinet organ for Mrs Gamble, with supplies for the family and
a twelve months’ mail, were landed safely through the surf.
Hoisting anchor on June 30 the Bear crossed over to Indian

HERD OF REINDEER LYING DOWN.
Photographed hi/ .4. L. Broadhent, U. B. i

VOL. VII, 1896. PL. III.

ARCTIC CRUISE OF THE REVENUE CUTTER ^‘BEAR" 29

point, Siberia, about 40 miles distant. There two Cossack officers
of the Russian arm 3^ were found taking a census of the village.
This was the first visit of Russian officials to that section of the
Siberian coast in many years, and the natives brought the Russian
coins they had received from them over to the ship to sell as
curios. Here, as elsewhere on the ti’ip, the ship’s surgeon went
ashore to treat the sick and ailing. The principal native of the
village is Koharri, who is a noted trader all along the coast. He
has a little frame whale-house filled from floor to ceiling with
tobacco, flour, and looking-glasses, which he has obtained from
the whalers and from which he sui)plies the country for hun-
dreds of miles around. This man has been known to have as
much as §75,000 worth of whalebone in his storehouse at one
time. He does a business of probably §100,000 a year, and yet
not a single coin of gold or silver nor a single bank note or bank
check is used, nor are any books kept. All transactions are by
barter, furs and whalebones being exchanged for tobacco, flour,
and whisk\^ This wholesale merchant of the North Siberian
coast can neither read nor write, nor can any one associated with
him. Although so wealthy, he lives in an ordinary tent and
sleeps on the ground, on a pile of reindeer skins.

On several occasions the Bear, in search of reindeer, has turned
southward from Indian point and sailed up Holy Cross sound,
at the head of Anadir gulf, some 300 miles into Siberia. In
1893, while in search of reindeer, Ave discovered a large river
emptying into Holy Cross sound. After visiting a herd of rein-
deer, an officer and crew entered the mouth of this stream, the
Bear being the first ocean steamer that had ever ploAved those
waters. This season the Bear, turning northward, anchored, on
July 1, off South head, St. Lawrence bay. Peter and Kaimok,
the leading men of that section, came on board and sold 40 head
of reindeer. The herd, however, Avas on the opposite side of the
baj' and could not be reached until the ice should go out, a month
later. Being unAvilling to Avait, the captain set sail for King
island, Avhich Avas reached the next morning. At tins point dur-
ing two previous seasons the Bear Avas caught and imprisoned in
large ice floes.

Leaving the island at 8 a. m., the Bear soon encountered large
cakes of ice at the entrance to Port Clarence. Forcing her Avay
through the ice, she found seven Avhalers at anclior inside, and
news Avas receiA’cd of the successful winter of the reindeer herds.

30 ARCTIC CRUISE OF THE REVENUE CUTTER

The 4th of July was spent with the whaling fleet, at anchor. .A
baseball game on shore and a salute of twenty-one guns at noon,
with a dinner on the Bear to the whaling captains, comprised
the public celebration of the day. On July 5 the Bear left for
St. Michael, where she arrived the following day. On July 8
anchor was hoisted and a trip was made to the native village on
Sledge island. On July 9 the steamer made Bering straits,
calling at East cape, where four or flve influential natives were
taken on board to aid in procuring reindeer. Learning that
there was a large herd about 50 miles to the northward, the vessel
entered the Arctic ocean. Early in the morning of Juh' 11 the
Bear, picking and pushing her way through the ice, reached Utan
At this place 16 deer Avere purchased and brought on board.
Continuing the trip up the coast, the Bear tied up to a huge ice
floe near caj)e Serdz;e, Siberia. ^Vhile there target practice was
had at distant pieces of ice. On the 14th, learning that there
were some deer at Chacoran, the vessel steamed over to that
village, Avhere 22 deer were secured. The ice closing in, the
cutter was compelled to move a few miles forther south. At this
point 73 head of deer Avere purchased, and at midnight the Bear
got under Avay for the reindeer station at Port Clarence, passing
through a gale on the 16th and reaching point Spencer on the
17th, Avhere she anchored. About noon on the 20th, the gale
haA'ing subsided, the Bear steamed over to the station and landed
the deer. The brig W. U. Meyer, Avith the annual supi)lies for
the several stations and schools, Avas found Avrecked on the beach
in front of the station, having gone ashore during the gale on
the night of the 17th. The supplies for the reindeer station had
fortunately all been landed, but those for the schools at cape
Prince of W'ales and point BarroAV Avere lost.

On .July 22 the Bear Aveighed anchor and headed for Siberia
for another load of reindeer, and on July 23 she reached St. LaAV-
rence bay. On the 24th she steamed to the head of the bay,
Avhere 43 head Avere secured. The next day she returned to the
reindeer station, Avhere the deer Avere landed on the 26th. On the
28th, the Bear having taken on board Mr and Mrs Hanna, Avho
had been Avrecked on the IF. H. Meyer, Avith their supplies re-
ceived from reindeer station, sailed for cape Prince of Whiles,
Avhere they Avere landed that afternoon. Again hoisting anchor
the steamer left for Kotzebue sound. On the Avay the schooner
Jessie Avas boarded and examined. On J uly 30 the Bear anchored

SCENE AT POINT BARROW IN APRIL.

NAT. GEOG. MAG. VOL. VII, 1896, PL. IV.

ARCTIC CRUISE OF THE REVENUE CUTTER ^HEAPU'

in the lee of Chamisso island. On the 31st, while the vessel was
lying windbound, Dr Sharp and Mr Justice, of the Philadelphia
Academy of Sciences, and Mr William Hamilton, of the Bureau
of Education, together with a party of officers, made an excur-
sion to Choris peninsula. On August 5 the steamer left for point
Hope, where it arrived next day. Here the school and whaling-
stations were visited, and Dr Driggs. one of the teachers, who
had been in that country for five years, was taken on board to
return to the states for a vacation.

On August 7 the Bear started up the coast for point Barrow,
wending its way through large packs of floating ice, and on the
following day caught up with the whaling fleet at anchor near
Icy cape, at the southern edge of the great Arctic ice pack. The
whaling fleet had been at anchor for 19 days, waiting lor the ice
to open. The Bear lay there for 14 days longer, waiting for an
opportunity to get farther north. Parties from point Barrow,
who came down the coast for their mail, reported that the past
■wdnter had not been very cold, the lowest temperature being 30°
below zero. Giving up all expectation of getting farther north,
young ice forming oil the sea and on the rigging of the vessel,
the captain concluded to turn southward, which he did on
August 22. The following day a shoal of walrus was sighted
several miles away, and hunting parties were sent out and secured
10 of them. Picking up the walrus, the vessel continued south-
i\'ard, calling at point Hope the next day and reaching the rein-
deer station August 27. Two days were spent in securing requisi-
tions and finishing up the business of the year. On September
1 the steamer, while near St. Michael, took on board 16 desti-
tute miners from the Yukon region. On the evening of Septem-
ber 4 the vessel anchored off the St. Lawrence island village.
The evening was spent in closing up the season’s business at the
station. Requisitions were made out for another year’s supplies,
last letters were received, urewells were spoken, and Mr and
Mrs Gamlffe were again cut off from all communication with the
outside world for another year. At 4 a. m. on September 5 tlie
Bear was again under way. September 6 St. Matthew and
Hall islands were }>assed, and on the 7th anclior was droi>ped
at St. Paul island, where on the 8th a landing was made for a
few hours. On Sei)tember 9 a similar landing was made at St.
George island, and at noon on September 11 anchor was dropped
in Dutch harbor, Unalaska, closing the Arctic cruise of 1895.

SCOPE AND VALVE OF ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS

THE SCOPE AND VALUE OF ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS^
By General A. W. Greely

In a brief twenty minutes one can touch only in a desultory
wa}’’ on this great topic that engages the thought and attention
of so many famous members of the Geogra])hical Congress, yet
a somewhat general outline of the scope and value of Arctic ex-
ploration may not he amiss.

This, however, is neither time nor place to present in detail
those phases of Arctic exploration that appeal so strongly to the
popular fancy. If one would gain an adequate idea of the true
aspects of such voyaging, he must turn to the original journals,
penned in the great White North by brave men whose “ purpose
held to sail beyond the sunset.’’

In these volumes will be found tales of ships beset not only
months, but years ; of ice packs and ice fields of extent, thick-
ness, and mass so enormous that description conveys no just
idea ; of boat journeys where constant watchfulness alone pre-
vented instant death by drifting bergs or commingling ice floes ;
of land marches when exhausted humanity staggered along,
leaving traces of blood on snow or rock ; of sledge journeys over
chaotic masses of ice, when humble heroes, straining at the drag-
ropes, struggled on because the failure of one compromised the
safety of all ; of solitude and monotony, terrible in the weeks of
constant polar sunlight, but almost unsettling the reason in the
months of continuous Arctic darkness ; of silence awful at all
times, but made }mt more startling by astounding i^henomena
that appeal noiselessly to the eye ; of darkness so continuous
and intense that the unsettled mind is driven to wonder whether
the ordinary course of nature will bring back the sun, or whether
the world has been cast out of its orbit in the planetary universe
into new conditions ; of cold so intense that any exposure is fol-
lowed by instant freezing; of monotonous surroundings that
threaten with time to unsettle the reason ; of deprivations wast-

* Address delivered before the Sixth International Geographical Con-
gress, London, at the Polar Session, July 29, 1895.

SCOPE AND VALUE OF ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS

ing the body, and so impairing tlie mind ; of failure in all things,
not only of food, fuel, clothing, and shelter, for Arctic service
foreshadows such contingencies, but the bitter failure of plans
and aspirations, which brings almost inevitable despair in its
train.

Failure of all things, did I say ? Nay ; failure, be it admitted,
of all the ph}^sical accessories of conceived and accomplished
action, hut not failure in the higher and more essential attri-
butes— not of the mental and moral qualities that are the foun-
dation of fortitude, fidelity, and honor. Failure in this latter
respect has been so rare in Arctic service as to justly make such
offender a byword and scorn to his fellow-laborers and suc-
cessors.

Patience, courage, fortitude, foresight, self-reliance, helpful-
ness— these grand characteristics of developed humanity every-
where, but which we are inclined to claim as special endowments
of the Caucasian race — find ample expression in the detailed
history of Arctic exploration. If one seeks to learn to what ex-
tent man’s determination and effort dominate even the most
adverse environment, the simple narratives of Arctic exploration
will not fail to furnish striking examples.

There is a ^\it^espread impression that all Arctic voyages have
been made for practically the same general purpose, whereas
polar research has passed through three distinctive phases : First,
for strictly commercial purposes in connection with trade to the
Indies ; second, for advancement of geographical knowledge,
and, third, for scientific investigations connected with physical
sciences.

Commercial interests dictated the grand series of vo}^ages
wherein England, competing with Spain from the period of the
ventures of the Cabots to the discoveries of Baffin, sought for a
short route to the Indies across the pole or by a northwest pas-
sage. As the futility of efforts by these routes became more or
less aj>parent, and as the naval strength of Spain and Portugal
ensured their continued monopoly of the growing and valuable
trade of the Orient, the attention of England was turned in sheer
desperation to the northeast ])assage as possibly offering a com-
]>eting route. While this quest j)roved impracticable for the
sailing ships of the sixteenth century, yet its prosecution inured
to the great financial advantage of England through the estah-

SCOPE AND VALUE OF ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS

lishmenttliereby of intimate and exclusive commercial relations
with the growing and hitherto inaccessible empire of Russia.

The renewal of the true spirit of geographical exploration in
the early part of the present century gave rise to a series of un-
paralleled voyages in search of the northwest })assage, which re-
sulted in the most splended geographical achievements of the
century. These voj^ages were not splended alone from the defi-
nite results attained, nor from the almost sui)erhuman efforts
that ensured success, but also from the lofty spirit of endeavor
and adventure that inspired the actors. The men wdio strove
therein were lured by no hope of gain, influenced by no spirit
of conquest, but were moved solely by the belief that man should
know even the most desolate regions of his abiding place, the
earth, and the determination that the Anglo-Saxon should do
his part.

Franklin said : “Arctic discoveiy has been fostered from mo-
tives as disinterested as they are enlightened ; not from any
prospect of immediate benefit, but from a steady view to the
acquirement of useful knowledge and the extension of the bounds
of science, and its contributions to natural history and science
have excited a general interest. The loss of life in the i)rosecu-
tion of these discoveries does not exceed the average deaths in
the same population at home.” Parry adds : “ Such enterprises,
so disinterested as well as useful in their object, do honor even
when they fail. They cannot but excite the admiration of every
liberal mind.”

Of Chancellor’s voyage to the northeast Milton said : “ The
discovery of Russia by the northern ocean . . . might have

seemed an enterprise almost heroic if any higher end than exces-
sive love of gain and traffic had animated the design.” Modern
critics except from dispraise the gallant men who in this centuiy
have given their lives from no sordid motive, and so merit Milton’s
full praise.

If not all, certainly some of these arctics have been animated
with the noble thought of the poet :

And this gray spirit yearning in desire
To follow knowledge like a shining star
Beyond the utmost bound of human thought.

Suffice it is to say, for geographic research, that it has remained
for the nineteenth century, with its wealth of industrial inven-

SCOPE AND VALUE OF ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS

tioiis and store of indomitable energy, to make the northwest
and northeast passages, to outline the northern coast of America,
and to discover the archipelagoes and islands situated poleward
from the three continents of the northern hemisphere.

Hudson’s voyage to the Greenland sea, in 1607, was of vast
industrial and commercial importance, for his discovery and
reports of the incredible number of walruses and whales that
frequented these seas gave rise to the Spitzbergen whale fishery.

The voyage of Poole for walruses and exploration, in 1610,
was followed by the establishment of the whale fishery by Edge
in the following year. Enterprising Holland sent its ships in
1613, later bringing in its train whalers from Bremen, France,
and other maritime centers. The whale fishery, as the most
important of Arctic^industries, from which Holland alone drew
from the Spitzbergen seas in one hundred and ten years, 1679-
lf78, products valued at about $90,000,000, merits at least our
brief attention.

Grad writes : “ The Dutch sailors saw in Spitzbergen wateTs
great whales in immense numbers, whose calch would be a
source of apparently inexhaustible riches. For two centuries
fleets of whalers frequented its seas. The rush to the gold-bear-
ing placers of California and the mines of Australia afforded in
our day the only examples at all comparable to the host of men
attracted by the northern fishery.”

Scoresby says: “ In a short time (whaling) proved the most
lucrative and the most important branch of national commerce
which had ever been offered to man.” This emphatic statement
is devoid of exaggeration in the slightest degree. Scoresby gives,
year by year, the products of the Dutch whale fishery in the
Arctic seas from 1668 to 1778, which aggregate in value over
$100,000,000. When it is known that Scoresl)y himself caught
in thirty voyages fish to the value of $1,000,000, it will not be
considered extravagant to place the products of the British
whale fishery at $250,000,000. Starbuck gives the ])roduct of
the American whale fisliery from 1804 to 1877 as $332,000,000,
making the aggregate of three nations, America, England, and
Holland, more than $680,000,000. How far this amount should
be increased on account of .seal, walrus, and other strictly Arctic
sea game need not be considered, but Norwegian and Bussian
fishers have successfully exploited these sources for the past
century.

SCOPE AED VALCE OF ARCTIC EXPLORATlOyS

The visit of Laikoff to the New Siberian islands added eventu-
ally a wealth of fossil ivory to Siberian trade that was onl}'’
second in value to the extraordinary stock of furs that grew out
of the explorations of the Arctic valley of the Kolinia by Rus-
sian hunters. From Hudson’s voyage to the bay of his name
are attributable the initiation and development of the extremely
valuable fur trade of the Hudson Bay Company. Bering failed
to outline the definite geographic relations of the contiguous
shores of Asia and America, but his voyages directl}’^ resulted in
the very extensive sea and land fur trade which has proved so
profitable through a century and a half.

Altogether, it may be assumed that in a little over two centu-
ries the Arctic regions have furnished to the civilized world pro-
ducts aggregating twelve hundred millions^of dollars in value.

Norshoulditbe inferred that commercial ends, scientific knowl-
edge, or the glory of effort crystallized in accomplishment have
alone turned man to the j^olar regions. The altruistic spirit of
Egede lavished its wealth of effort in the turning of the Greenland
Eskimo to Christianity and civilization, and it enkindled the
flame of Christian endeavor that Crantz and the Moravian breth-
ren kept alive during the critical phases of Greenland’s history.
As Cowper says ;

See Germany send forth

Her sons to pour it on tlie fartliest north.

Fired with a zeal j>eculiar, they defy
The rage and rigor of a polar sky
And plant successfully sweet Sharon’s rose
On icy plains and in eternal snows.

In recent days Great Britain has had its Duncan, France its
Petitot, and the United .States its Jackson, Avhose evangelizing
labors, acting through the more successful method — that of in-
culcating civilization and helpfulness — are a ]>art of the glory of
this time. The residence of Holm among the east Greenland
natives and of Peart' with the Etah Eskimo have, it is to be hoi)ed,
not been fruitless along these lines and should stimulate human
sympathy for these dwellers on the northern edge of the world.
Evert' lover of mankind will rejoice that Denmark, with the
Christian solicitude that has always marked its polic}' towards
the Greenlanders, has extended its unprofitable trade relations
to east Greenland and established a missionary station at Ang-
inagsalik for the benefit of the natives. May we not hope that

SCOPE AND VALIE OF ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS

some religious association may likewise plant the seeds of civil-
ization and Christianity amon'g the Cape York Eskimo?

There is neither intent nor time to worthily eulogize the deeds
of living Arctic men, nor even to stimulate the eager rising youth
who shall outdo all that has gone before ; rather would this brief
word add a leaf of laui’el to the crowned dead whose Arctic fame
forms part of each nation’s historic heritage — hallowed for the
j)ast, priceless for the present, indispensable for successful fu-
turity.

Shall I name the soldiers or sailors, the explorers or scientists,
the trader or the whaler? Rather all, since science knows neither
station nor profession, neither dialect nor nationality.

In the roll-call of the dead Austria-Hungary answers with
’\Ve}"precht, whose greatest fame will ever be associated with the
establishment of the international })olar stations.

Denmark follows, equally at home in Ainerican, Asiatic, or Eu-
ropean waters, through Munk and Hamke, Jan Mayen and Vitus
Bering.

Then France wdth De la Croyere, Pages, Blosseville, Fabre,
Ctaimard, Marmier, Martins, and Bellot, the last a name ever
grateful to English ears.

Germany has generously loaned her talent to insure success
Avherever sound and important scientific work is to be done.
Baer, Bessell, Petermann, and Steller are Avortny successors to
Frederick Martens, of the seventeenth century — men and Avork
of Avhich any nation may be proud.

Holland, in Barents, Nay, Tetgales, Rip, and Heemskerck, pre-
sents a roll of honor Avell in keeping Avith the notable Avork of
the thousands of Dutch Avhalers that exploited the Spitzbergen
seas.

The Italian contingent, from the Zeni of the fourteenth cen-
tury through the Cabots toBoveof our OAvn day, maintain here,
as elseAvhere, their geographic standing.

Norwegian Othere set in the ninth century the ])ioneer standard
of Arctic ex[)loration, Avhich later, combined Avith the labor of
exploiting the northern seas, has Mattilas, Carlsen, Tol)iesen, and
a score of others as Avorthy successors.

Russia finds the Arctic problem a domestic ([uestion, and from
the time of Peter tlie Great to today has done an amount of Avork
not generally ai)preciated or known. 'I’he Laptietts and Desh-
neff, Tchirikof, and IJakoff’, Anjou and Wrangell, Kotzebue and

SCOPE AND VALVE OF ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS

Liitke, Pachtussof, Krusenstern and Zivolka, stand forth in the
annals of the world.

In Hedenstrdin and Torrell Sweden finds examples that have
borne such abundant fruit in the late active labors of her en-
thusiastic sons.

Once it was said that the almighty dollar was the object and
end of American endeavor, but when American treasure — not by
the millions but b}'’ the billions — was poured out and lives by
the hundreds of thousands were joyfully given for an idea tlie
men of the new world rose to a higher place in Euroj)ean esti-
mation.

A fellow-townsman of mine was a petty officer under Sir John
Franklin, and among the hundreds engaged in tlie Franklin
search none had a more altruistic and generous spirit than the
American Elisha Kent Kane. Hayes left no danger undared to
reach his “ Open Polar Sea.” Rodgers dared all, in Arctic ice as
in the War for the Union. De Long and Ambler knew how to
die, but not how to desert a helpless comrade. Hall followed the
Arctic sledge to his veiy death. Lockwood, whose personal toil
and suffering accomplished the farthest north and set the goal
beyond which some more fortunate rival will soon pass, met
with fortitude and sweetness the harsh fate which debarred the
world from placing its laurel wreath save on his grave.

I can scarcely say aught of British effort in a field that has
been peculiarly England’s for the past three centuries. And
how, among her innumerable Arctic dead, shall I single out
representatives, worthy exam piers of British courage and effort?
Like Macbeth’s kings, the line stretches out to crack of doom.

Great were the daring navigators of the sixteenth and seven-
teenth centuries — Chancellor and Davis and Frobisher, Hudson
and Waymouth, Bylot and Baffin ; but were they greater than in
their way were Cook, Hearne, and Mackenzie in the eighteenth ?

And when we come to their worthy compeers of this century,
there is barely room for the names of these daring spirits. Here
is Britain’s unequaled roll :

Austin, Back, Beechey, Buchan, Clavering, Collinson, Crozier,
Forsyth, Goodsir, Inglefield, Kellett, Kennedy, Lefroy, Lyon,
McClure, Maguire. Mecham, Moore, the immortal Nelson, Os-
born, Penny, Pirn, Rae, Richardson, James C. Ross. Jolm Ross.
Sabine, Saunders, Scoresby, father and son ; Simpson, and
Stewart.

SCOPE AND VALVE OF ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS

Close communion in spirit and thought with their recorded
labors for many years has made for me many friends among the
great Arctic dead, and so particularly segregates in my mind, from
this alphabetical list, the twin Arctic compeers, Franklin and
Parry, sls facile princeps in this great company.

But the history of these men is inextricably interwoven with
the wonderful development of the British Empire, and their
deeds forever abide to the glory of the English-speaking race.

And of the Arctic dead of Europe, Asia, and America, from
the earliest Othere of Norway and the Zeni of Italy to the latest
fallen in Sweden, Nordenskiold the younger, promising son of
his distinguished father, there may well be quoted the words of
an American soldier :

On Fame’s eternal camping ground
Their silent tents are spread,

And Glory guards with solemn round
The bivouac of the dead.

Storm-stayed and ice-beset no longer, their dust awaits the
change and fate ordained by God’s eternal laws.

The end they sought, the work they wrought, the courage and
devotion they showed should stand as ideals and patterns for
the men of the future in the accomplishment of the great Arctic
work which it shall be their good fortune to undertake.

But now we look again to England to retake its former place
in Arctic research. Shall we look in vain ? I believe not. '

Let her remember that the beginning of the end will have
come for the ever extending and ever developing British power
when this insular people would ever consent, for any sum in
pounds and pence, that the Arctic relics of Greenwich should
be scattered, or that there should ever be removed from West-
minster Abl)ey, rich with its clustering memories and gathered
treasures of a thousand years, the tribute of genius to heroism,
of England’s poet laureate to its Arctic dead.

Well has it been for Britain that hundreds of its youth have
imbibed together learning and patriotism, love of the beautiful
and admiration for glory, while translating into classic verse
these immortal words :

N(jt here. Tlie white north lias tliy bones, and thou.

Heroic sailor .soul.

Art passing on thine hapjtier voyage now
Towards no earthly pole.

OBITUARY— GEOGliAPIIIC LITER A TIRE

OBITUARY

Dr Robert Brown, the distinguished botanical geographer, died Octo-
ber 20. He was in command of the Vancouver island exj)loration of 1804
and was in the Whymper West Greenland expedition of 1867, his glacial
and natural history work attracting much attention. His “Manual of
Botany” is his best work, although it is less widely known than are his
“Peoples of the World,” “Countries of the World,” “Our Earth and
its Story,” “Africa,” and “ Science for All,” which aggregate 24 volumes.

Admiral R. B. Pearse, R. N., died in November. He served as mate in
H. M. S. Resolute, 1850-’51, and made a sledge journey of 208 miles, from
Griffith to Bathurst island, during which he and one of his men were
badly frozen. He rendered distinguished service to his country during
the Chinese war of 1858-’60.

Henry Seebohm, the eminent ornithologist, died November 20. His
investigations carried him over the greater part of the world. Two of his
most interesting works, “ Siberia in flurope ” and “ Siberia in Asia,” were
the outcome of his bird trips to the Lower Petchora in 1875 and the
Yenisei in 1877, his ship being wrecked on the latter occasion. Seebohm’s
great works are the “ History of British Birds,” “ Geographical Distribu-
tion of Plovers,” and “ Birds of Japan.”

Rear Admiral Shufeldt, U. S. N., who died November 7, has left a record
of unusual brilliancy. His most important geogra^ihical work was done
while he was in command of the Tehuantepec and Nicaragua surveying
expeditions. His reports, valuable documents illustrated by plates and
maps, were printed by the Government in 1872 and 1874. The greatest
service that Shufeldt rendered to .America, and, it may be added, to the
world in general, was the negotiation, in 1882, of the treaty by which
Korea was thrown open to tlie commerce of the United States, first of all
nations.

GEOGRAPHIC LITERATURE

Elemeniar;/ Physical Geofimphy. By Ralph S. Tarr, Assistant Professor of

Dynamic Geology and Physical Geography at Cornell University. Pp.

488, with maps and 267 illustrations. New York : Alacmillan & Co.

1895. ?1.40.

This book appears well adapted to serve as a text-book of physical
geography. It will commend itself by its perspicuous style to the favor-
able attention of those who may desire information concerning the most
recent developments in this important field, without the labor of examin-
ing ptirely professional papers, and who do not care to depend on irre-
sponsible newspaper reports. The chapters devoted to geology are, as
might be e.xpected, unexceiJtionable. In its treatment of ocean currents,.

GEO GRAPHIC LI TER A TURE

however, the work is open to criticism. With regard to the temperature
and wind theories the author fails to make himself clear. He also omits
^iny explanation of the important part the salts play in the matter of
ocean currents, and he entirely ignores the Yucatan channel current, the
strongest one in existence. The general appearance of the book is excel-
lent. The illustrations, with but few exceptions (as, for example, that of
mount Vesuvius, on page 376), are very good and the price is exceed-
ingly reasonable.

The Gold Diggings of Cape Horn: A Study of Life in Tierra del Fuego and
Patagonia. By John R. Spears. Pp. 319, with illustrations. New
York : G. P. Putnam’s Sons. 1895.

So few books have been written about the terra incognita between cape
Horn and the straits of Magellan that a new one by so well known an
author as Mr John R. Spears will be heartily welcomed. It is written
in the author’s usual quaint style, with a vein of humor running all the
way throiigh; and while it does not claim to be a record of personal e.x-
ploration like Beerbohm’s or Lady Brassey’s, but merely a collection of
newspaper sketches written up at.homefrom data gleaned during a cruise
around the edges, it is full of valuable information. While the author’s
ideas of the gold diggings are a trifle too sanguine, his account of the Ona,
Yahgan, Tehuelche, Alaculoof, and other Indians, as well as of the mis-
sionaries who are tr}dng in vain to tame them, of the famous Welsh
colony on Chubut river, of the general resources, and also of the birds,
beasts, and reptiles, of lands at thetii^ end of the hemisphere is extremely
interesting.

*Stan ford’s Compendium of Geography and Travel {new series). Africa.
Volume II, South A frica. By A. H. Keane, F. R. G. S., etc. Pp. 671,
with 11 maps and 92 illu.strations. London : Edward Stanford. 1895.
American agents, J. B. Lippincott Co., Philadelphia. $4.50.

This admirable volume, fresh from the press, gives an authentic, “up
to date ” account of the geography, history, and political complexion of
South Africa. It is illustrated by nearly 100 admirably chosen plates and
text figures and a dozen excellent colored maps. Perhaps no part of the
world has ever undergone so rapid and fundamental a metamorphosis as
has South Africa “ since the leading powers resolved, a few years ago, to
transform this continent to a political dependency of Europe.’’ “ Occur-
rences of far-reaching consequence,” says the author, “ have followed in
«uch swift succession that in the preparation of this work the chief dilli-
culty has been to keej) i)ace with the shifting scenes. In some instances
many carefully prepared pages have had to he greatly modified, and even
rewritten, owing to the unexpected turn taken by events in vanous parts
of the continent.” ^Madagascar, ^Mauritius, and other islands of the
Indian ocean are included in the book, and the author adopts the very
modern view of an “ Indo-African continent ” connecting South Africa
through Madagas(!ar with the Indian peninsula. While the work^deals
mainly, as wouhl be expected, with the more purely geograi)hic and

GEOGRAPHIC LIT ERA TURE

political questions, it still bestows some attention on the fauna and flora,
and it would have been well if these subjects had been referred to some
of the eminent British naturalists who are so well qualified to speak on
these topics.

National Geographic Monographs, published under the auspices of the
National Geographic Society. Pp. .S36, illustrated. New York :
American Book Co. 1895. $1.40.

The first series, comprising Nos. 1-10, ends with December. It consists-
of memoirs by Powell, Shaler, Russell, Willis, Diller, Davis, Gilbert, and
Hayes on geographic topics of primary importance. All geographers will
find much that is interesting and instructive in these memoirs, but to-
American teachers and students they will be especially valuable. They
have been published by the American Book Company in the hope that
memoirs by authors ranking among the most eminent of American scien-
tists would by their intrinsic worth and scientific interest advance the-
cause of higher education in the United States.

I'ihet. Notes on the Ethnology of Tibet. Based on Collections in the
United States National Museum. By W. W. Rockhill. Report of United
States National IMuseum for 189.3. Pp. 665-747, pis. 1-52. Washingtoiir
1895.

Readers of these interesting pages will be gratified that so extensive a,
collection from this comparatively unknown country has been made by
the National IMuseum. It is fortunate that the description of the different
objects has fallen into the hands of one so competent by acquirements and
experience as Mr Rockhill.

Chili. Republique de Chili. Cartes commerciales, physiques, etc. Par
F. Bianconi. Librairie Chaix. Paris, 1895.

A valuable addition to the Chaix series, giving the latest information
regarding the agricultural and mineral resources, commerce, railways,,
etc., of Chili, with a map, 1:2,500,000, embodying the latest surveys.

Special Consular Reports, Vol. 12 — Highways of Commerce. The ocean-
lines, railways, canals, and other trade routes of foreign countries.
Washington, 1895. Pp. 763, with 9 maps.

A timely publication, whose value is materially increased by a nundier
of ma])s, of which the most important sliow the railways of IMexico, Si-
beria, Natal, and India. Some of the data, as seems unavoidable in Gov-
ernment publications, are nearly two years old. The railway mileage of
the world on December 31, 1894, was 423,923, of which 189,576 were in the
TTuited States. At the end of 1892 tlie mileage of the princijial countries
and the average cost per mile as given by the German Minister of Publie
Works were as follows : United States, 174,747 miles, $.59,300; Germany,
27,451 miles, $95,200; France, 24,014 miles, $131,900; Great Britain and
Ireland, 20,321 miles, $131,000; Russia, 19,622 mile.s, $90,400; Austria-
Hungary, 17,621 miles, $95,400 ; Canada and other British American prov-

GEOGRAPHIC LITERATLRE

inoes, 14,866 miles, 857,600; Italy; 8,496 miles, 8114,600; Argentine Re-
public, 8,161 miles ; Mexico, 6,624 miles ; Brazil, 6,388 miles ; Spain, 6,169
miles; Belgium, 3,379 miles, 8131,000.

The information concerning the railways of South and Central Africa
is of especial interest, although great progress has been made in the ex-
tension of transportation lines during the past year. The value of the
report is enhanced by the insertion of the well known map of the world
issued by the Hj'drographic Office of the United States Navy Department
in June, 1891, which shows tracks of full-powered steam vessels, with dis-
tances, and probably contains a larger amount of information on this
subject than can be found elsewhere within an equally limited space. Its
presentation on the map in both graphic and tabular form increases its
usefulness. The distances between different ports on the east and west
coasts of North and South America and the shores of the gulf of Mexico
and Caribbean sea are also shown. The volume contains a full topical
index.

EXECUTIVE REPORTS

The annual reports of the cabinet officers, recently transmitted
by the President to Congress, contain some items of geographic
interest.

War Depart.mext. — The Secretary of War states that since 1879
829,500,000 has been appropriated for the improvement of the Mississipi^i
river, of which 88,400,000 has been directly applied to general improve-
ments to aid navigation. The greater jmrt of this amount has been spent
on two reaches of the river, each 20 miles long, one situated 80 miles above
Memphis and the other 80 miles above Vicksburg. The result has only
been to increase the depth of the river at low water by 18 inches. For
the improvement of the IMissouri river, which for years has had practi-
cally no navigation, 88,900,000 has been appropriated. The Secretary
questions the propriety of further appropriations for this river.

With regard to the propo.sed Chicago drainage canal, a board of engi-
neer officers state that the abstraction of 10,000 cubic feet of water ]ier
second from lake Michigan will lower the level of all the great lakes ex-
cept Superior, and reduce the navigable capacity of all harbors and shal-
lows, but to what extent cannot be foretold at this time.

The Yellowstone National Park has now 170 miles of good highways,
permitting easy acce.ss from the railways to the principal points of interest.
It is proposed that 25 miles of additional roads, now impassable for ve-
hicles, be opened, which will complete the general scheme of highways.

Tlie .\pache Indian jirisoners, comprising about 70 families, have been
removed to the Fort Sill reservation, which is being gradually brought to
a self-sustaining basis.

The defensele.‘<s coinlition of the principal harbors is dwelt upon and
the nece.ssity of liberal aj)p ropriations strongly ju-esented.

GEOGRAPHIC LITER A TURE

Navy Depaiitmext — Surgeon General. — Among valuable special reports
are those of Surg. Gen. Tryon, on “The Relation of Naval Architecture
to projjer Sanitation; Dr H. G. Beyer, on “Normal Growth under the
Influence of Exercise,” and Dr E. K. Stitt, on “The Medical Aspect of
tlie Nicaraguan Canal.”' Dr Stitt believes that while the construction of
the canal would temporarily increa.se the prevailing malarial diseases, it
would ultimately remove the most potent pestilential forces through
changes in swamps and in the level of lake Nicaragua.

Po.sT Office Departmext. — The Postmaster General states that the
revenue of his department for the year lS94-’95 was in round numVjers
$77,090,000, and that the expenditures amounted to $87,000,000. ^lail
service has been established on electric and cable lines in Boston, Brooklyn,
Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, and St. Louis. The net increa.se in
the number of po.st-offices is 429, principally in Oklahoma, Indian Terri-
tory, and Virginia. Cape Colony has joined the postal union, leaving
Korea, China, and the Orange Free State the only civilized nations not
embraced therein.

Departme.xp of the Ixterior. — The Secretary of the Interior covers in
his report the operations of many bureaus, of which the more important
are treated under the following heads :

Patent Office.— There were 3(3,972 applications for patents, 20,465 pat-
ents were granted, 12,906 expired, and .3,208 were forfeited for nonpay-
ment of fees.

Indian Bureau. — There are 161 Indian reservations, on which the prob-
lem of making tbe ahiorigines self-supporting is progressing with more or
less rapidity. For schools alone $2,060,695 was appropriated, and nearly
$7,000,000 for payment for lands and other treaty obligations. The school
pupils have increa.^ed by 1,417 during the year. The total enrollment
was 23,036, of whom 4,673 are in industrial training schools. Lands have
been patented to 6,851 Indians during the year.

Generfd Land Office. — Of public lands there have been disposed of to
Indians 42,000 acres; by sale, 417,000; miscellaneous entries, 7,947,000.
There remain undisposed of 599,000,000 acres, exclusive of Alaska. The
vacant public lands are largely in the arid regions, and from 8 to 25 per
cent, according to various e.stimates, may ultimately be cultivated by irri-
gation. The Laud Commi.ssioner recommends the establishment of forest
re.ser vat ions, and that legislation be enacted relative to public timber, to
the surveying of public lands through the Geological Survey, and to the
estiiblishment of a district land office in Alaska.

Bureau of Educ'Uion. — The number of pupils enrolled in schools in 1894
was 15,5.30,000, or 22.9 per cent of the entire population.

yationul Parka and Forest Resermtions. — There are si.xteen reservations,
with a total area of 16,325,000 acres, embracing parts of Arizona, Cali-
fornia, Colorado, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington. The more im-
portant Yellowstone, A^osemite, and Sequoia parks are protected b\' mili-
tary guards.

GEOGRAPHIC LITERATURE

Geological Surven. — The operations of this important bureau are left for
review until the publication of the full report of the Director of the Surve}'.

Censuf!. — The cost of the Eleventh Census to June 30, 1895, was $10,-
531,141. ’ Of 25 volumes, with 22,000 pages, all are printed or in })ress,
except parts of volumes on Population and Vital Statistics.

IxTER-STATE COMMERCE COMMISSION. — The total number of miles of rail-
way in the United States on June 30, 1894, was 178,708, an increase of
2,247 miles in twelve months. Miles of line per 100 square miles of ter-
ritory, 6.02 ; per 10,000 inhabitants, 20.3(5. Stock capital, $4,834,075,6.59 ;
funded debt, $5,356,.583,019 ; other indebtedness, $605,815,135; total,
$10,796,473,813, or $62,951 per mile. Passenger receipts in 1893-’94,
$285,349,558; freight receipts,- $699,490,913 ; other income, $231,338,131;
total, $1,216,178,602. Expenditures, including fixed charges, $1,160,422,-
632. Number of passengers carried, 540,688,199; average number per
train, 44; average journey per passenger, 26.43 miles.

NEW MAPS

Western Hemisphere Charts, published by the Hydrographic Office, United
States Navy, July-December, 1895, with size, scale in inches, and price.

Great Lakes, No. 1462, Lake Ontario, Toronto Harbor, 22.6 x 27.5 ; M. =
3.377 ; $0.50. No. 1469, Lake Huron, Georgian Bay, Cabot Head to
Boucher Point, 29.6 X 39.7 ; M.-=0.75; $1.00. No. 1475, Lake IMichigan,
24.4 X. 34. 5; D. Lat. =5.91; $0.75. No. 1477, Lakes Erie and Ontario,
23.4x23.7 ; D. Lat. =5.80; $0.75. E, The Great Lakes, Index to Coast,
Special and Harbor Charts, 9x 15.2; D. Long. =0.6; $0.10.

Mexico, No. 1494, San Ignacio Lagoon, 26.3 .x 37 ; M. = 1.5; $0.75.
Bermuda, No. 1495, Bermuda and Great Sound, including Grass\^ and
Port Royal Bays and Hamilton Harbor, 21 x 25.75; M. =4.0; $0.50.

Xiearagua, No. 1510, Entrance to Pearl Cay, 16.6x22.6; M. =4.0;
$0.50. No. 1517, Approaches to Pearl Cay Lagoon, with plans of Great
and Little Corn Islands, 24.0 .x 37.4 ; M. = 1.0 ; $0.75.

Guiana, No. 1512, Corentyn River, Approaches to Nickerie River, 16.5 x
20.7; :\L = 4.0; $0.25.

Guiana, No. 1513, Entrance to Corentyn River, 7.1 x 9.4; M. = 0.5, and
Entrance to tlie Coppename and Sarainacca Rivers, 7.1 x 9.4 ; M. = 0.25 ;
.$0.25.

Argentina, No. 1515, Port San Julian, 14.3 x 18.6 ; M. = 2.0 ; $0.25. No.
1516, Port Santa Elena, 13x17.5; M. = 3.0; $0.25. No. 1518, Port San
Antonio, 10.2 x 13.3; .M. = 1.0; $0.25. No. 1519, Rio Negro, 11.1 x 12.6;
M. = 1.0; $0.2-5. No. 1521, San Bias Harbor, 13.1 x 14.8 ; M. = 1.0 ; $0.25.

Brazil, No. 1520, Port Camamu, 21.2 x 30.4 ; M. = 2.0 ; $0.50. No. 1522,
From Bahia to Ilheos .\nchorage, 28.5 .X 38.8 ; M. =0.25; $1.00. No. 1524,
Port Tamandare, 9.7 x 11.4 ; 51. = 4.0; $0.25.

XATIOXAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY:

PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
SOCIETY, SESSION i895-’96

Special Meeting, October 11, lS9o. — President Hut>bard in the chair. Vice-
l^resident Greely delivered an address on The Si.vth International Geo-
graphical Congress, London, 1895.

Special Meeting, October 25, 1895. — President Iluhhard in the chair. Mr
Ernest Flagg, Architect of tlie new Corcoran Art Gallery and of the Wash-
ington Episcopal Cathedral, read a paj)er, illustrated hy lantern slides, on
The Development of the Mediteval Cathedral.

Regular Meeting. Xovemberl, 1895. — Vice-President Gannett in the chair.
Vice-President Ogden addressed the Society, giving a narrative of explo-
rations on the isthmus of Darien.

Special Meeting, Xovember 8, /^.95. — President Iluhhard in the chair.
]\Iajor Alfred F. Sears, C. E., read a paper, illustrated hy lantern slides,
on The Geographic Conditions that Create Great Commercial Centers.

Regular Meeting, Xovember 15, 1895. — Vice-President Gannett in the
chair. General topic : The H vdrography of the United States, divided as
follows: Hydrographic Investigations, hy 5Ir F. II. >»ewell. Chief Hy-
drographer, L". S. Geological Survey; The Work of the Weather Bureau
relating to Hydrography, hy Prof. W. L. Moore, Chief of the Bureau ;
Stream Measurements in the West, hy 5Ir A. P. Davis; Hydnjgraphic
Studies in the .\ppalachian Area, hy Mr C. C. Bahh, and Hydrography
of the Xavigiihle Waters, hy ]\Ir Marcus Baker. Each paper was illus-
trated l)y maps and diagrams.

Special Meeting, Xovember 22, 1895. — President Huhhard in the chair.
5Ir E. L. Corthell, D. Sc., C. E., read a paper, illustrated by lantern slides,
on The Tehuantepec Route.

Regular Meeting, Xovember 29, i59.5. —President Hubbard in the chair.
;Mr Marcus Baker read a paper on Alaska and her Boundary, illustrating
his remarks hy a series of historical maps. The discussion that followed
was participated in hy Hon. .1. R. Procter, Gen. A. W. Greely, and Dr
AV. H. Dali.

Special Meeting, December 6, 1895. — President Hubbard iu the chair.
Mr C. M. Ffoulke read a paper on The Tapestry-Producing Nations, and
exhibited a number of tyjjical i)ieces of tapestry from his valuable col-
lection.

Regular Meeting, December 1.3, 1895. — Vice-President Dabney in the
chair. Dr C. Hart Merriam read a paper on The Life of the Desert,
with special reference to the fauna of the desert regions of the United
States. Dr ^lerriam illustrated his remarks hy means of a number of
skins and of stuffed animals and birds; also hy lantern slides of animals
and of desert scenery.

ITS PROCEEDINGS

Special Meeting, December SO, ^<955.— President Hubbard in the chair.
Admiral E. AV. Meade, U. S. N., delivered an address, illustrated by maps
and lantern slides, on The Caribbean Sea: the Mediterranean of the
AVestern \A'orld.

Elections. — New members have been elected as follows :

October 14. — AA’’alter C. Allen, Joseph A. Arnold, Gustav Ayres, Maj.
Cbas. Bendire, U. S. A., Frederick Benjamin, John H. Brickenstein,
Prof. J. F. Chamberlain, Henryk M. Chapman, Miss Josephine A. Clark,
AA^. AV. Cheshire, Miss Virginia E. Dade, T. H. Davies, John T. Devine,
Mrs A. G. Draper, AV. AA'^. Duffield, Jr., Prof. M. J. Elrod, Alaj. F. L.
Evans, E. E. Ewell, Prof. D. C. Farr, Charles AV. Fisher, Mrs Alary E.
Gilpin, Dr Geo. 0. Glavis, Capt. C. H. Gordon, U. S. A., Edward P. Hall,
John H. Hinton, Aliss Alartha N. Hooper, Richard L. Howell, Ernest \ .
Janson, Thos. Kirby, Prof. F. Lamson-Scribner, John E. Lyons, J. T.
Alacey, AVm. J. Alarsh, Airs Cornelia N. Alason, Philip Alauro, Chief
Engineer Fred. G. AIcKean, U. S. N., Airs Y. AV. Aliller, Airs V. A. Aloore,
Prof. AVillis L. Aloore, Dr A. C. Patterson, Daniel A. Ray, Dr E. AAh
Reisinger, N. H. Shea, Chas. AA^. Smiley, Capt. J. G. Sobral (Spanish
Kavy), Dr A. C. True, Dr F. W. True, Dr J. Van Rensselaer, Aliss Alahel
L. AA^hite, President B. L. AAdiitman, John C. AA'ilson, Hon. AVm. L. AVil-
son, J. AA". AA'^itten.

October So. — Edmund Becker, Airs Isabella' AI. Bittinger, AlercerD. Blon-
del, Eugene C. Brown, O. B. Brown, Airs J. Alills Browne, Hon. AAhn. R.
Castle (Hawaiian Alinister), James H. Crew, Surg. S. H. Dickson, U. S. N.,
Airs Alary Fuller, S. C. Gilman, Col. A. Heger, U. S. A., Airs Julia Hen-
derson, E. C. How'land, AA''m. A. Hungerford, Col. D. L. Huntington,
U. S. A., George H. Judd, Aliss Tessa L. Kelso, J. R. Alarshall, AAhn. H.
AIcKnew, Airs L. R. Alessenger, Dr AA''. F. Alorsell. Thos. Nelson Page,
Aliss Josephine Pickles, Airs Fannie AI. Reynolds, Rev. J. Havens Rich-
ards, S. J., Albert N. Seip, Airs A. AI. Shaw, Aliss Juliet Solger, Baron
Thielmann (German Ambassador), L. L. Thompson, Frank ATncent, Geo.
AA’^. AA’’eber, H. A. AA'ierwille, Alonzo C. Yates.

November 8. — Chas. B. Bailey, AA^m. H. Beck, B. AA'. Beebe, P. C. Claf-
lin, Arthur J. Dillon, Aliss J. C. Donovan, George E. Emmons, Aliss
Frances Graham French, Gen. L. P. Graham, U. S. A., H. A. Griswold,
Aliss Alamie E. Hale, Dr Theo. G. Hoech, A. B. Hoen, Dr AA'm. H.
Holmes, Henry AI. Hubbard, F. A. Kendall, AIi.«s Carrie AI. Lash, C. R.
Richards, AAhn. P. Richards, C. E., Chas. J. Tilden, Homan D. AA'al-
hridge, Daniel AA'ehster.

November 18. — Chief Justice Edward F. Bingham, Capt. G. Rodney
Burt, Mr Justice Shepard, John K. Souther.

November SO. — Senor Jac<)ho Blanco, Prof. L. C. Glenn, Rev. Allen
Hazcn, Alaj. A\'. P. Hu.xford, U. S. A., S. A. Aloreland, AA'alter F. Rogers,
Elmer G. Runyan, James C. Spriggs, Jr., AVhn. P. Steam, Gen. Richard
A'illafranca.

yOliTir AMERICAN NOTES

December iJ.— Hon. C. B. Beach, ]\I. C., Dr J. L. M. Curry, Hon. C. E,
Foss, ^I. C., Dr E. 31. Gallandet, Baron Beno von Herman (German Em-
bassy), W. J. 3Iartin, 3Iaximilien de 3Ieck (Secretary, Russian Legation),
Pak Yong Kin (Chai'ge d’Affaires Korean Legation), Sefior Don Edmundo
J. Plaza (Mexican Legation), Dr J. L. Reeves, Rev. Prof. Rene de Saussure,
Alexander de Somoft’ (Charge d’Affaires Russian Legation).

The following delegates from The N.\tiox.\l Geogr.m’hic Society at-
tended the Sixth International Geographical Congress, held in London in
July last: General A. W. Greely, Assistant Secretary of State Rockhill,
Miss E. R. Scidmore, 3Iiss Aileen Bell, 3Iiss Lilian Hayden, Lieut. Com-
mander W. S. Cowles, IT. S. N., Lient. Everett Hayden, U. S. N., Cyrus
C. Adams, and W. C. Whittemore.

NORTH AMERICAN NOTES

The convention between the United States and Great Britain to.provide
the requisite topographical data to determine the lioundary between
Alaska and British Columbia expired by limitation December 31. An-
other commission will determine the location of the line.

Gkeenland. The National Geographic Society welcomes back one of
its members, Engineer R. E. Peary, U. S. Navy, from his perilous and
terrible journey across Greenland. If he failed to surpass his own record
of 18i)2 he paralleled it, thus emphasizing a success far beyond that of any
other explorer of the inland ice. Ethnologists look contidently for impor-
tant data relative to the Etah Eskimo, and American universities have
profited largely by the natural history collections.

Rhode Island. According to the state census of 1895 the population
of the state is 384,758, as against 304,284 in 1885 and 345,506 by the fed-
eral enumeration of 1890. Cities over 20,000 are as follows: Providence,
145,472; Pawtucket, 32,577; Woonsocket, 24,468; Newport, 21,537, and
AV'arwick, 21,168. The drift of migration is from agricultural districts to
manufacturing centers.

Florida. Palm Beach, the terminus of the Florida East Coast Railway,
has been created a port of entry in connection with a line of steamers,
which leaving in the afternoon reach Nassau the next morning, thus open-
ing a new route, important both to commerce and tourists.

Block Island. A land-locked liarbor, 1,600 acres in area, has been con-
structed in the interior of Block island at a cost of §100,000. The channel
to the Atlantic is 12 feet deep at low water and 300 feet Avide, with a break-
water extending 600 feet into the sea. It is proposed to doulde the depth
and width of the channel.

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work ‘ Constantinople.’ It is no exaggeration to say that it is the most important iiopular treatise
on CoiLStantinople from the historical and archaeological point of view that has yet appeared in
English, and coming as it docs at a time when the fate of the capital of the East is hanging in the
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numbers among its contributors the following well-known writers
,on the' different branches of geographic science:

IMr. Cyrus C. Adams, New York.

Dr. Cyrus Adler, vSmithsoniaii Institution.

Mr. Marcus Baker, U. S. Geological Survey.

Capt. John R. Bartlett, U. S. N.

Dr. Francis Brown, Union Theol. Seminary.

Mr. E. h. Corthell, C. E., New York. '

Dr. Elliott Coues.

Mr. Frank Hamilton Cushing, Bureau of
American Ethnology.

Dr. Charles W. Dabney, Jr., .Assistant Secre-
tary ot Agriculture and President (on leave)
of the Tennessee State University.

Dr. Wm. H. Dali, Smithsonian Institution,
Pres, of the Phil. Society of Washington.

Dr. George Davidson, I’resident of the Geo-
graphical Society of the Pacific.

^Ir. Arthur P. Davis, U. S. Geological Survey.

Mr. Wm. M. Davis, Professor of Physical Geog-
raphy in Harvard Universit)'.

Dr. David T. Day, Chief of the Div. of Mining
Statistics and Technology, U. S. Geol. Sur.

Mr. J. S. Diller, U. S. Geological Survey.

Hon. John W. Foster, e.v-.Secretary of ,State.

Mr. Henry Gannett, Chief Topographer, U. S.
Geol. Sur. anrl Geographer of nth Census.

Mr. G. K Gilbert, U. S. Geological Survey,
Pres, of the Geol. Society of Washington.

Gen. A. W. Greel}', U. S. A., Chief Signal
Officer, War Department.

Hon. Gardiner G. Hubbard, President of the
National Geographic (Society.

Dr Mark W. Harrington, President of the Uni-
versity of the' State of Washington.

Lieut. Everett Hayden, U. vS. N., Secretary of
I the National Geographic Society.

I ^Ir. Wm. II. Holmes. Dir. of the Dept, of An-
I thropology, Field Colum. Museum, Chicago.
i Dr. ISinil Holub, Vienna, Austiia.

IDr. Sheldon Jackson, U. S. Commissioner of
Education for Alaska.

Mr. George Kennan.

Prof. William Libbey, Jr., Princeton Coll., N. J.

Prof. W J McGee, Bureau of American Eth-
nology.

Mr. John E. McGrath, U. S. Coast Survey.

Admiral R. W. Meade, U. S. N.

Dr. T. C. Mendenhall, President of the Poly-
technic Institute, Worcester, Mass.

Dr. C. Hart Merriam, Ornithologist and Mam-
malogist, U. S. Department of Agriculture.

Hon. John H. Mitchell, U. S. vS.

Prof. W. L- Moore, Chief of Weather Bureau.

Mr. Frederick H. Newell, Chief Hydrographer
of the U. S. Geological .Survey.

Mr. Herbert G. Ogden, U. S. Coast Survey.

Lieut. Robert E. Peary, U. S. N.

Mrs. Robert E. Peary.

Hon. Geo. C. Perkins, U. S. S.

Mr. William H. Pickering, Profe.ssor of Astron-
omy in Harvard University.

Major John W. Powell, Director of the Bureau
of American Ethnology and President of the
Anthropological Society of Washington.

Prof. W. B. Powell, .Superintendent ot Schools,
District of Columbia.

Hon. John R. Procter, President of the U. S.
Civil Service Commission.

Mr. Israel C. Russell, Profe.ssor of Geology in
the Universit}'^ of Michigan.

Dr. N. S. Shaler, Profes.sor of Geology in Har-
vard University.

Commander Charles D. Sigsbee, Hydrographer
to the Bureau of Navigation, Navy Dept.

Miss Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore.

Commander Z. L Tanner, U. .S. N.

Mr. Frank Vincent, New York.

Hon. Charles D. Walcott, Director of the U. S.
Geological .Survey.

IMrs. Fannie B. Ward.

Mr. Bailey Willis, U. S. Geological Survey.

Among the contents of forthcoming numbers will be articles, for
the most part illustrated, on the Panama, Nicaragua, and T'ehuantepec
routes ; on Venezuela, by Mr. W. \i. Curtis, late Chief of the Bureau of
j the American Republics; on the Geography, Peo})le, and Resources of
s Costa Rica, by General Richard Villafranca, Commissioner-General to
I the Atlanta Ivxposition ; on S(^me Recent Explorations in the Foothills
U of the Andes of Ecuador, by Mr. Mark B. Kerr; and on Some Physical
I Features of Lake Superior, by President M. W. I larrington.

The February Number

. . . OF . . .

WILL CONTAIN SPECIAL ARTICLES ON THE

PANAMA, NICARAGUA, and
TEHUANTEPEC ROUTES.

ALSO AN ARTICLE ON

F V E N E Z U E 1. A ,

. . . BY . . .

Mr. WM. E. CURTIS,

Late Chief of the Bureau of the American Republics.

Entered at the Post-office in Washington, D. C., as •second-class mail matter.

JUDD & DETWEII.KR, PRINTERS, W.\SHINGTON, D. C.

FEBRUARY, 1896

No. 2

CONTENTS j

YBJTEZUElJ^ : HER t^OVERNiMENT, ^EOPLE, |aND B0UNDARt/ -

’ - -- william e. Curtis

Egbert Tv^^lLL

// ^ >-• I

ELMER L. CORTHELL.

THE ?p|»tJANTBPEO S^IP RaIeLWA

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\ \ \ ! /iv'' GEN. A. W. OREELY

exploration^ the EUlfeAU OF AMBI^i

IN 18954T

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P' Geograpbic~!^Ote8, p. 87 ; ' Tho V^ley cf the Orinoco, p. 92

OF AMBHfiCAN ETHNOLOGY

W J McGee

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THE

National Geographic Magazine

VoL. VII FEBRUARY, 1896 No. 2

VENEZUELA; HER GOVERNMENT, PEOPLE, AND
BOUNDARY

MTlliam E. Curtis,

Ex-Director of the Bureau of the American Republics

Along the Spanish main, from Trinidad to the isthmus, is a
mixture of Florida and Switzerland, where one can find 'wdthin
the radius of a single day’s journey any climate or scene to suit
his taste, from a tropical jungle swai'ining with tigers and ’gators
to mountain crests crowned with eternal snow. The Andes and
the Cordilleras, fonning a double spinal column for the continent,
split and scatter and jump into the sea. At the very edge of the
ocean, within view of passing vessels, are jreaks whose snow-
capped summits-seem to hang in the air. •The Nevada de la Santa
ISIarta, 17,500 feet high, affords one of the most majestic spectacles
in ail nature. Tourists are always incredulous when the peak is
pointed out to them, for it resemliles a hank of clouds, Imt they
are finally compelled to admit the truth of geogra]>hy, for clouds
do not stand transfixed in the sky, unchangealile and immovalile,
like this phenomenon.

Between these mountains and along the coast are narrow val-
leys of luxurious troi)ical verdure and a rich soil — valleys which
yield three harve.sts annually and are densely populated. Coffee,
sugar, and chocolate are the staples of the lower region, called
tierre calicntei hoi earth) ; corn, beans, and other ])roducts of the
temperate zone are raised upon the mountain sides, and higher,
seven or eight thousand feet above the level of the sea, am herds
of goats and cattle.

VENEZUELA :

The population of Venezuela is about two and one-half mill-
ions, not including 260,000 Indians, and there are nine states, one
federal district, and five territories. The country is still in a
|)rimitive and com})aratively undeveloi)ed condition. Outside
the principal cities it has made little or no progress since the yoke
of Spain was thrown off, and the population is believed to Ije less
than it was then.

Agricultural and industrial development has been retarded by
political revolutions and a lack of lalj)or and ca])ital, hut the
])i’operty of foreigners who do not meddle with local affairs is sel-
dom disturljed and the government offers lil^eral inducements
for colonization and investment. IManufacturing estal.)lishments
are almost unknown. There is little machinery in the country,
and industry is generally carried on in the households and by
the most primitive processes. There is an abundance of conven-
ient water power, hut fuel is scarce and ex^jensive; therefore the
future wealth of Venezuela, as well as her })resent prosi)erity, lies
in the development of her agricultural resources, which are almost
l)oundless, and her mineral deposits, which are among the richest
and most accessible. Coffee is the great staple, and the product
is unsurpassed.

It has been the unhapjiy lot of Venezuela to have been the
scene of almost constant warfare. There is not a country in
the world whose history is more stained with blood. She is
tlie Hungary, the Poland, of South America. There is scarcely
a city or a settlement within the limits of the rei)uhlic which at
some time or another has not suffered total or i)artial destruction,
and scarcely a mountafti to]) from which some ])attlefield may
not l3e seen. During colonial times Venezuela was cuffed and
kicked about by Spain so that her peoi>le were in almost con-
stant rebellion, and since her independence was estal)lished, three-
([uarters of a century ago, her political leaders have ke})t her like
an armed camp. Most of her rulers have l)een elected l>y l)ullets
and bayonets instead of by ballots, and most of her great men
have died in exile, to have their l)ones brought home in after
years with tremendous honors and buried under monuments of
marble and statues of hronz(\

The president of Venezuela is assisted in the performance of
his duties by a cabinet of eight memljers. He receives a salary
of a thousand dollars a month, a house to live in, honses and car-
riages, servants and furniture, and, in fact, everything except Ids
food. He conducts himself verv much like the President of the

HER GOVERNMENT, PEOPLE, AND BOUNDARY

United States ; his daily routine is similar, and he is annoyed by
office-seekers to about the same degree. He commences business
at half-past six o’clock in the morning, and often has cabinet
meetings as early as seven. The government offices open at seven,
when all the clerks and officials are expected to be on hand, no
matter how late they were dancing or dining the night before, but
they knock off work at eleven for their breakfast and siesta, and
do not return to their desks again until two.

Cabinet ministers are paid $6,000 a year and congressmen
$2,500, without any additional allowances, but the sessions do
not last more than three months usuall}'', so that they may engage
in their regular occupations the rest of the year.

The standing army is composed of five battalions of infantry,
1,842 men; one battery of artilleiy, 301 men, and one regiment
of cavalry, 325 strong. Besides these regulars, who garrison the
capital and the several forts throughout the country, there is a fed-
eral militia which is drilled annually and required to respond to
the call of the government at any time.

The rank and file of the army is composed exclusively of In-
dians, negroes, and half-breeds. They are obedient, faithful, and
good fighters. Some of the fiercest battles the world has ever
known have taken place in Venezuela with these poor fellows
on both sides. Their uniform in the field is a pair of cotton
drawers, a cotton shirt, a cheap straw hat, and a pair of sandals,
hut when they come to occupy the barracks in town and do guard
duty around the government buildings they are made to wear red
woolen trousers, blue coats, and caps of red and blue, with regular
army shoes.

The officers are generally good-looking young fellows of the
Ijest families, who take to military service and enjoy it. They
wear well kept uniforms, have good manners, and are usually
graduates of the university.

The government has estaldished a school of industry for the
education of the Indian children, and every year a commission
is sent to obtain recruits for the army among tliem. The boys
are tauglit trades and all sorts of handicraft, as well as reading,
writing, and arithmetic, and the girls are drilled in the duties of
the brnne. When they have reached an age when their faculties
are fully develo])cd and their habits fixed they are sent hack
among their tribe as missioiiaries, not to teach religion, hut civili-
zation, and the Indians are said to he imja'oving ra})idly under
the tuition of their own daughters and sons.

VENEZUELA :

The chief towns of Venezuela are Caracas, the capital, and La
Guayra, its seaport ; Valencia, which lies upon a curious lake, one
of the most interesting of natural phenomena ; Puerto Cabello,
where Sir Francis Drake dief] and was dropped into the water
with a l)ag of shot at his heels, and Maracail)o, upon the lake of
the same name, from which we get much of our coffee.

The chief seajjort of Venezuela, La Guayra hy name, has the
rci)Utation among sailors of having the worst harbor in the world.
It is merely an open roadstead, beset by almost all the dangers
and difficulties which seamanship can encounter. Even in calm
weatlier the surf rolls up with a mighty volume and dashes into
S})ray against the rocks uj)on which the toAvn is ljuilt ; but when
a breeze is blowing, and one comes almost every afternoon, the
waves are so liigh that loading or unloading vessels is dangerous
and often impossible.

Between La Guayra and Caracas is a mountain called La Silla,
whicli reaches nearly 9,000 feet toward the sky and springs di-
rectly from tlie sea. There is only a beach about two hundred
feet in width at the foot of the peaks, along which La Guayra is
stretched two miles or so — a .single street. Part of the town clings
to the side of the momster like a creeper to the trunk of a tree,
and one wonders tliat the earthquakes, which are common there,
do not shake the houses off into the ocean.

The distance in a straight line through the l)ase of the moun-
tain would be only about four miles, and a Washington engineer
once made ])lans for a tunnel and a calde railway, but it was too
exi)ensive an undertaking. Over the dip in the saddle is an
Indian trail about eight miles long, and in 1883 English engineers
and capitalists l)uilt a railroad twenty-four miles long between
the two ])laces, which climbs 3,600 feet in about twenty miles,
and cree])S through a pass to the valley in which the ca})ital is
situated. It is a remarkalile piece of engineering and offers the
traveler a scenic view whose i)icturesqueness and grandeur have
})een extolled from the time the Si)anish invaders came, in 1520,
until now. IIunil)oldt says there is no picture combining the
scenery of the mountains and the ocean so grand as this, except
the i)eak of Teneriffe. It is as if Pike’s peak rose abruptly from
the beach at Long Branch.

There is nothing Indian about Caracas except its name, and
it is one of the finest cities in South America. The climate is
superb, being a perpetual spring, the thermometer seldom rising
above 85 degrees and seldom falling below 60 ; there is not a

NAT. GEOG. MAG. VOL. VII, 1B96, PL. VI.

LA GUAYRA — FROM THE EAST.

HER GOVERNMENT, PEOPLE, AND BOUNDARY

stove, nor a fireplace, nor a chimney in the town ; there is no
glass in the windows ; the nights are always cool, and in the day-
time there is a difference of ten or twelve degrees in temj)erature
between the shady and the sunny sides of the street.

In 1812 the city was entirely destroyed by an earthquake and
twenty thousand people were killed. It came on Holy Thurs-
day, when the citizens were pre]>aring for the great religious
fiesta of the year. There was not a cloud in the sky and not a
thought of danger in the minds of the people, when suddenl}’ the
town l)egan to rock, the church hells tolled voluntarily, and a
tremendous explosion was heard in the Ijowels of the earth. In
a second the city was a heap of blood-stained ruins and the air
Avas filled with .shouts of horror and the shrieks of the dying.

There have been several earthquakes since, attended with se-
rious casualties, and Avhile the people profess not to fear them
they build the walls of their- houses three and four feet in thick-
ne.ss and seldom make them more than one story high.

The })eople of Caracas have an opera supported l;)y the govern-
ment, a university, art galleries, public buildings that are beau-
tiful and expensive, and homes in which one can find all the
evidences of a refined taste that are knoAvn to civilization. While
in some res})ccts the people are two hundred years behind our
own, and while many of their manners and customs appear quaint
and odd Avhen judged by our standard, there is no social station
in America or Plurope which the educated Venezuelan Avould not
adorn. Their women are proverlnal for their beauty and grace
and their men for their dei)ortment.

There is no convenient Avay of getting from Caracas to the
Orinoco country exce})t by sea. Of course, one can “cut across
lots,” and many peoi)le, armies, indeed, have gone tliat Avay,
but it is a long, tedious, and diflicult journey, and dangerous at
times, because of the mountains to be climbed, the forests to bo
])enetrated, the rivers to be forded, and the trackless swani|)s.
To a naturalist the trip is full of fascination, for the trail leads
through a region ])rolific with curious forms of vegetable and
animal life.

To reach Ciudad bolivar, formei’ly known as Angostura, the
])olitical ca])ital as well as the comimircial metropolis of the Ori-
iVK-o country, is neither diHicult nor expensive, and, aside from
the heat, the journey is eomfortabh*. It is like going from New
York to .Memphis by sea, how(“V(-r, although not s<t great a dis-
tance. 'I’here are no native means of transportation, but you can

VENEZUELA :

take any of the English, French, or German steamers, and they
are usually leaving La Guayra as often as twice a week to Port-
of-Spain, on the British island of Trinidad. At least once a week,
and generally twice, a steamer leaves Port-of-Spain for the upper
Orinoco. The time required to make the journey depends upon
the season of the year and the condition of the river. If Amu are
going during the rainy season — that is, from the first of IMay tO'
the first of November — you can reach Ciudad Bolivar in three
days ; hut during the dry season, when the river is low, naviga-
tion is slow and difficult because of snags, bars, and other ob-
structions. At Ciudad Bolivar the traveler shifts his baggage to-
a smaller craft, similar to those that ply the Ohio, Tennessee,
and other streams of the United States, and starts onward for the
head of navigation, A\dierever that may he.

It is possil)le to go within two days’ journey on mule-back of
Bogota, the capital of Colombia, by taking the Meta, one of the
chief affluents of the Orinoco, and by passing southward through
the Cassiquiare the Amazon can be reached. Few people are
aware that a boat entering the mouth of the Orinoco can emerge
again into the sea through the Amazon Avithout leaving the Avater.
This passage is not naA'igahle for large steamers because of rapids-
and obstructions, I)ut it might he made clear at an expense that
Avould be very slight in comparison Avith the advantages gained..

Another branch goes nearly to Quito, the capital of Ecuador,,
and in fact its affluents are so numerous and so large that in all
the five hundred thousand square miles of territory drained by
the Orinoco there is scarcely a point more than three or four
days’ journey l)y mule from navigable Avaters, and there are said
to l>e four hundred and thirty navigable branches of the river.

From the Atlantic to the Andes, from the chain of the Cordil-
leras that hugs tire coast of the Caribbean to the legend-haunted
Sierra de la Parima, there is an area as large as the valley of the
INIississippi, and similar in its configuration, capable of producing
mighty crops of nearly CAmrything the Avorld feeds on, and afford-
ing grazing ground for millions upon millions of cattle. From
the foothills of the mountains in Avhich the sources of the river
are, tAvo thousand miles to the sea, are great plains or llanos, like
those of loAAai and Illinois, almost entirely destitute of timber,
exce])t along the courses of the rivers, Avhere A^aluable trees are
found.

The scenery for the greater part of the voyage is interesting,,
but as you reach the upjAer Avaters and enter the foothills of the

VALLEY OF CARACAS, EAST OF THE CAPITAL, WITH COFFEE AND SUGAR PLANTATIONS.

Jr-,

HER GOVERNMEXT, PEOPLE, AND BOUNDARY 55

Andes it l>econies sublime; but there steam navigation ceases,
and canoes j>addled by Indians are the onh" means of transporta-
tion. The heat along the lower river is intense, but the boats
are built so as to protect the traveler from the sun and afford tlie
greatest degree of coolness possible. The water is turbid and
muddy; the banks are low, and the Orinoco, like the Missouri,
often tires of its old course and cuts a new one through fields or
forest; on either side the coarse grass and reeds grow tall, and
toward the end of the season are topped with tassels that nod
and droop in the sun.

At daybreak long lines of pelicans and other water birds
awakened 1 >y the breathing of the steamer go clanging out to sea,
and as morning wakens, the thin blue mist that nature nightly
hangs upon the river rises and leaves the slender rushes that line
the banks to quiver in the burning glare. Toward noonday a
breeze springs up, which is as regular and faithful as the stars ;
it cools the atmosphere, covers the surface of the river with pretty
ripples, and makes life possible under a tropic sun. There is no
twilight ; the sun jumps up from below the horizon in the morn-
ing and jumps down again at night, and then tor a few moments
the sky, the river, and the savannahs are one vast rainbow, livid
with colors so spread and blended that the most unpoetic eyes
cannot behold it without admiration and awe.

The smaller streams are sheltered by flower-bespangled walls
of forest, gay with innumerable insects and birds, while from tlie
branches which overhang them long trailers droop and admire
their own gorgeousness in nature’s mirror. Majestic trees whose
solitude was undisturl^ed for centuries are covered with decora-
tions that sur))ass the skill of art; their trunks and limbs con-
cealed by garlands finer tlian were ever woven for a bride — masses
of scarlet and jnirple orchids, orange and crimson, l)lue and
gold — all the fantastic forms and lines with which nature liedecks
her robes under the fierce suns and the faltering rains of the
tropics.

The onl}’’ jilace of real importance, the entreiiot of all com-
merce, the headquarters of all trade, the source of all supplies,
and the political as well as the commercial capital of lU'arly half of
the re])ublic of Venezuela, is (dudad Bolivar. It has about 12,000
inhabitants, representing almost every nation on earth ; it is built
upon a clay bluff about seventy feet aliove high-water mark, so
that it is in no danger of being swept away. During the six
months of dry season, when the water is low, most of the ship-

VENEZUELA :

])ing business is transacted upon the beach. The government
lias concentrated at Ciudad Bolivar the civil and military au-
thority. It has the only custom-house upon the entire Orinoco
system and practically the only courts.

The city resemhles other Spanish-American towns, for they are
all alike, has a number of jiretty foliage-shaded squares, several
rather imposing government buildings, a cathedral, a puldic
market, a theater, a college, and the inevitable statues of Bolivar,
the liberator, and Guzman-Bianco, the regenerator of Venezuela.
The volume of business done there is enormous in jiroportion to
the jiopulation, as it is the supply iioint and the })ort of shipment
for a large and productive area. Within the last few years the
exports of gold alone from that little town have been valued at
8oh,0( )0,( )00. The ])rincipal merchants are Germans, the restau-
rant keepers are Italians, and the lal)oring classes are negroes
from the West Indies or Canary islands. Shii)s from all ports
in the world land at the i>iers, and the flags of every nation may
he seen floating from the poles on the house-tops. The manu-
facture of cigars is extensive, as excellent tobacco is cultivated in
the neighl)orhood, and in almost every household the women
emjtloy their sjiare time rolling the leaves into what are known
in the nomenclature of N(wth America as “ Wheeling stogas.”
These are u.sed in amazing quantities by the negro roustabouts,
and are sent down the river to Los d'aljlas, from whence they are
carried on mule-hack 150 miles into the interior to the mines.

The most })rofitahle mine in Venezuela, and one that is famous
all over the world, is El Callao, situated on the borders of the
dis])uted territory, in the state of Bolivar, al»out one hundred
and fifty miles south of the Orinoco river.

I suppose that the richest gold mine ever discovered Avas the
Consolidated ^hrginia, the mine from which so many of the Cali-
fornia mining kings drcAV their enormous fortunes. It is diffi-
cult to calculate the output of the old Spanish mines in South
America, hut El Callao is reckoned second to the Consolidated
Virginia in the amount of g(fld ])roduced, and I understand that
it has already produced more “ free gold ” than any other eA’er
o])ened. It was Avorked Ijy the Indians long ago ; at least its
location corresponds Avith that of a legendary de})Osit fi’om Avhich
the saA'ages of Venezuela got much of the gold taken from them
by the S])aniards, hut after the latter took possession of the coun-
try its existence AA'as a matter of much doubt, until four Jamaica
negroes hajq)ened to run across it on a prospecting tour.

VOL. VII, 1896, PL. VIII.

VALLEY OF CARACAS, WEST OF THE CAPITAL, WITH PLANTATIONS AND SUGAR FACTORY.

HER GOVERXMEXT, PEOPLE, AXD BOUXDARY

Three agreed to sell their share in the discovery to a party of
Corsicans for a nominal price. The fourth negro decided to
keep his interest, and has ahvays been glad that he did so, for
vithin the next two or three years he was able to return to his
native island, where he has since lived like a nabob at the city
of Kingston, the richest man in Jamaica.

The Corsicans, when the}’ began to realize the value of the
jiroperty, sent two of their number to England, and succeeded
in raising sufficient money to build a stamp-mill and introduce
other necessary machinery ; 1nit they did not capitalize their
com])any at ten or tAventy millions of dollars, as is customary in
the United States, nor did they put any of their stock on the
market. They issued only thirty-tAvo shares, Avhich Avere sold
originally at S2,500 a share cash, making their entire capital
$80,000. These shares have since sold for half a million dollars
each, at Avhich rate the mine Avould 1>e AA’orth $16,000,000; Imt
most of them are still in the possession of the original suliscribers.

There is little immigration and labor is scarce. Most of the
miners are negroes from Jamaica, Trinidad, and other A\'est
India islands. They appear to be the only class of human
beings Avho can endure the climate, for the land is Ioav and the
mines are situated almost directly on the equator. The country
is comparatiA'ely healthy, but the rays of the sun are intense,
and until a man liecomes acclimated he is easily })rostrated by
e.xposure. Wood is the only fuel, and a A'ery poor quality costs
seven dollars a cord.

Some of the mines are Avithin and some Avithout the territory
claimed by Elngland, l)ut Great Britain has tAvo gunboats ujxrn
the Orinoco, and at the first possil>le excuse Avill tak(* })ossession
of the entire mineral district. Such an act Avould be audacious,
but AA’ould l)c lieartily Avelcomed by the i)Cople, Avho AA'ould A’ery
much |)referan English colonial goA’ci'innent to Venezuelan rule.
I have l^een told by dozens of men — .Americans, Germans, natiA’c
Venezuelans, and representatives of other nations — that if the
<|Uestion Avere subnutted to the miners the decision Avould lu?
almost unanimously in favor of England. JJie most poi)ular
and po])ulate<l diggings are on the Harima liver, in the disputed
territory, Avhere several million dollars of foreign ca]tital, mostly
British, is invested, and some twenty thousand miners are at AVork.

The colonial authorities of fJuiana liaA’e calmly occu]»ied this
territory, organizing jxdice, appointing local magistrates, assum-
ing legislative as Avell as cxecutiA'c jurisdi<-tion, providing hiAvs

YESEZUELA

and regulations for the government of the mining camps, requir-
ing prospectors to obtain licenses from the colonial officials at
Georgetown before commencing work, and to advertise their
claims and locations in the Official Gazette of the colony.

These regulations have been imposed by the British colonial
authorities within a territory to Avhich they did not claim owner-
shi}> until the discovery of gold, and over which they did not
attempt to exercise jurisdiction until 1883 ; and as new mines
have been discovered they have gradually pushed their frontier
line westward until it now includes nearly twice as much terri-
tory as they claimed twenty years ago and seven times as much
as was ceded to Great Britain by Holland in 1814. It is true that
the Venezuelans have shown no enterprise or activity in develop-
ing their own resources. They have permitted foreign prospectors
to enter and occupy the mining districts at their will, and have
never attempted to exercise police or even administrative control
in the mining camps. The original })rospectors, being English-
men, naturally looked to the colonial government at Georgetown
for ]>rotection, and the other foreigners fell in without a question,,
acknowledged British sovereignty and obeyed British law.

It was within this disputed territory, between the Orinoco and
the Amazon, that the ancient voyageurs located the mythical city
of Manoah, the El Dorado upon which the wonder and greed of
two centuries were concentrated. Tidings of its barbaric splen-
dor were brought home by every voyageur, and each caravel that
left the shores of Europe carried- ambitious and avaricious men,.
Avho ho})ed to share its plunder before their return to Spain ; but
the alluring El Dorado was not a place ; it was a man. The term
signifies “ the gilded,” and was originally applied to a mythical
king who every morning was sprinkled with gold dust by hi.s
slaves. The nuggets of gold and the rudely wrought images which
Sir Walter Raleigh laid at the feet of Queen Elizabeth when he
returned from his exploration of the Orinoco doubtless came from
the noAV famous mine of El Callao. But the El Dorado was never
found ; no courage could overcome, no persistence could dis-
cover, what did not exist, and the fabulous king of the fabulous
island still sits on his fabulous throne, covered from his fabulous
crown to his fabulous sandals with the fabulous dust of gold.

[Note — The foregoing article is an abstract of a lecture delivered before The National
Geographic Society by Mr Curtis, January 10, 1896. The lecture itself consisted of se-
lected extracts from Mr Curtis’ book, “V’enezuela: A Land Where it’s Always Sum-
mer,” which will shortly be published by Harper k Brothers.]

THE PANAMA CANAL ROUTE

B}" Robert T. Hill,

United Stales Geological Survey

Within the space assigned to me for the discussion of the most
unpopular of the three rival isthmian routes, I can do little more
than present a brief summary of the facts concerning the Panama
canal. At the outset it ma3"be stated that if the Nicaragua route
could he exclusive!}" controlled by the United States, even if it was
far more costly, my personal preference would be for it. In no
case, however, does such personal preference necessitate or justify
misstatements as to the rival Panama route, concerning which,
since it was allowed to pass out of American control into the
hands of the French and to become involved in serious financial
difficulties, imblic opinion in this country seems to be singularly
misinformed.

That this route is in control of a foreign power ; that it is a
rival enterprise to one supposedly controlled by a private corpo-
ration in which American citizens and officials are interested, and
that it has fallen into ill repute through scandalous mismanage-
ment are facts which are undeniable.

These questions of adiuinistration have, however, little to do
with the purely scientific problem of what constitutes the most
feasible route for uniting the two oceans by a maritime canal.
Some ])atriotic Americans, while admitting that national preju-
dices draw them to a preference for the rival route, can yet see
the arguments on both sides of the question and can di.stinguish
the proposition that the financial failure of the Panama Canal
Company in Paris is no condemnation of the feasibility of the
Panama canal route.

The engineering investigations that liavc been conducted since
the ])ractical susj)ension of operations on any extensive scale on
the canal itself have been singularly overlooked. At least three
thoroughly e(iuip|)ed eorj)S of engineers have resurveyed the
entire route and recommended modifications in the plans. The
rejiorts of two of these commissions descrihing the ini|)roved
lock-level .system are in print. 'I’he third and more recent com-
mi.ssion was engaged in studying the canal during my visit to tin;

6'J

THE PANAMA CANAL ROUTE

isthmus in January, 1895. It comprised a large and competent
Imdy of skilled engineers, and my final word must V>e held in
reserve until this commission has made its report.

In the meantime, what are the principal facts concerning the
feasibility of the Panama route?

1. It is the shortest of all, being only 42 1 miles from sea to
sea, across about 20 miles of which the canal has been completed
to 28 feet Ijelow sea level, making the actual present distance I)e-
tween the two oceans less than 25 English miles, or about one-
seventh of the actual distance (170 miles) to he overcome between
Greytown and San Juan in the case of the Nicaragua route.

2. It is the only ])ossil)le tide-water route in the whole isthmian
region. To accom])lisli it would, it is true, require great engi-
neering and constructional feats, but in no respect impossilde
ones.

8. It is said by competent and reliable engineers to he feasible
for a lock-level route. The plan ]woposed involves the construc-
tion of a dam at Bujio or San Pahloa of about the same size as
that which is admitted to he necessary at San Carlos on the Nica-
ragua route, together with six locks. The construction of this
dam would create a summit lake 125 feet above tide water and
12 miles in len<rth if placed at San Pahloa, or 21 miles if located
at Bujio. In addition to giving free summit navigation, such a
lake would control the floods of the Up])er Chagres, storing tliem
in the rainy season and supplying water to the summit lock-
levels.

4. It is in a region comparatively free from seismic disturb-
ance and one in which no volcanic action has occurred since late
Tertiary time. The Nicaragua route is within a zone of topo-
gra])hically destructive volcanic disturbance, where earthquakes
are frequent.

5. It has what no other route possesses : excellent terminal
harbor facilities, with anchorage at both oceans so improved that
ships can enter and leave at will.

fi. It has been minutely surveyed. Every ^foot of the “ trace ”
has been cleared of vegetation and ]mrtially excavated and tested
I)v ])onngs, so that the actual problems of construction are ap-
proximately known. As to problems that will surely arise in the
Avork on the other route Ave liaA’e absolutely no data.

7. It has on the Caribbean side only 31 miles of flooded thahveg

THE PvlJNM.Y.l CANAL ROUTE

(21 of the Chagres and 10 of the Obispo) to be threaded and con-
trolled, against 111 miles in the case of the rival route. It is true
that the Nicaragua route proposes to avoid a part of the San Juan
1)V a cut of 40 miles, but the control of the remainder will be a
similar and probably as serious a problem as that 2)resented by
the Chagres. From 10 to 15 miles of the latter have been coni-
l)letely diverted and the remainder can be controlled by the i)ro-
l)Oscd summit-level lake. In the case of a sea-level plan the di-
version would still be a great problem, but by no means an insur-
mountable one.

8. It will be the cheapest route to construct. The plant already
furnished, with two-fifths of the excavation now completed for a

PANAMA CANAL,

SHOWING A PORTION OF THE 13^ MILES COMPLETED ON THE CARIBBEAN SIDE.
WIDTH, 80 FEET. TOPOGRAPHY OF CENTRAL PORTION VISIBLE IN BACKGROUND.

sea-level route, including (;x])cnse of administration and ma-
chinery, lias actually cost 8 150,00! ),()()(). Fpon this basis it is
estimated that the entire length of 421 miles will cost 81 1(),00<),000
more U]»on the lock-level plan. A sea-level route would cost
82< M ),( M )0,000 more. 1'lie amount of work necessary to complete
the Fanama canal is far le.ss than would be required to construct
the Nicaragua route. Engineers admit that 40 miU*s of excava-
tion— almost equivalent to the entire length of the Panama
eaiial — are necessary along tlu; rival route. What the cost of the

THE PANAMA CANAL ROUTE

construction of the Nicaragua route will be can never be told
until the actual work is well under way.

9. It is nautically the most important route, being more cen-
trally situated relatively to the two continents. Its Carilibean
terminus is as near by sailing and steaming routes both to the
North Atlantic and European ports as is Greytown, while its
Pacific terminus is far more convenient to the South American
trade.

10. Politically it is the only route at present possessing treaty
rights under guaranteed neutrality with any isthmian country by
which canal construction can be i^ermitted. The region through
which it passes is American in interest and practically under our
protectorate, and a neutral canal across it, even though the French
construct it, would give us all the privileges now apparently to
l)e obtained via Nicaragua under the Bulwer-Clayton treaty.

The foregoing are the salient facts concerning the Panama
route. An ini])ortant point to remember is that underground
conditions, l)oth favorable and unfavoraI)le, and which were not
antici])ated from the preliminary surveys, have Iieen encountered
in the course of construction. For instance, the 25 kilometers of
the canal on the Caril)hean side were contracted for and paid for
as rock-cutting, when the material ]>roved to be, for the most part,
the easiest kind of earth excavation. On the other hand, an
utterly unlooked-for obstacle developed in the creeiDing of the
clays for al)out a mile along the Culebra summit. These are
geological considerations with regard to which we have alisolutely
no information along the Nicaragua line, and it is urgently
needed.

Although not essentially pertinent to the subject of feasibility,
a few words concerning the actual present status of the canal con-
struction may he of interest. The com})any has passed through
the ordeal of experimentation and financial fiiilure and its affairs
are now in the French courts, under whose direction accurate re-
searches have been ])rosecuted during the past year to ascertain
the exact expenditures of the late company and to determine
what steps are necessary to complete the work. Upon the report
of the commission will depend the completion of the canal. The
French people have put too much money into the enterprise not
to complete it, and Americans need not deceive themselves with
the expectation that the work is abandoned or that the company
is utterly bankrupt. Almost the entire plant, including dredges.

NAT. GEOG. MAG.

CONSTRUCTION WORK ON THE PANAMA CANAL, NEAR THE SUMMIT,
Photographed by Robert T. Hill.

THE CAXAL ROUTE

raihvay locomotives and other machiner}^ track, barges, steam
vessels, pontoons and locks, houses, shops, etc., for the comple-
tion of the v'ork is on the ground, and this alone represents a
large proportion of the money expended hy the old company.
This plant is not undergoing the ruinous decay that has been
represented in this country, but, on the contrary, it is kept in
scrupulously good order and will be available for the completion
of the work.

The old Panama Company was responsible for nearly
6266,000,000, of which it spent 6150,000,000 upon the plant
and construction and criminally distributed nearly 6100,000,000
among the dishonest parties who brought the company into dis-
rei)Ute. In the hands of the courts, however, there still remains
some 820,000,000 awaiting the reorganization of the company.
That the present commission does not consider the route im-
practicable is attested by tlie fact that they have kept the work
progressing, al)out 2,000 laborers having been employed upon the
construction of the canal during the past year. When, in Feb-
ruary, 1895, 1 took the photograph reproduced as an illustration
to this article I counted five locomotives at work cariying away
the excavations from the Culebra summit.

No available news comes to this country from France concern-
ing the operations of the canal. The Outlook, however, in a recent
issue, makes the following statement:

“It was announced recently that the French company in charge of the
work on the Panama canal is now collecting 2,000 more men from Jamaica
and other West Indian islands to add to the 1,800 now at work, and that
it is intended eventually to increase the force to 6,000 men. The New
York Evening Poet declared that it had received information which it
considered trustworthy that the money to finish the work on the j)resent
plan has all been furnished, and that nothing can prevent the opening of
the canal at the appointed time, e.vcept accidents and obstacles not now
anticipated. The managers even expect that the work will be completed
in six years. This is (juite in line with the report maile by Sir Henry
Tyler, the late president of the Grand Trunk railway, who has been visit-'
ing Panama. He .says that it is propt)sed to construct two large dams,
one across the Upper Chagres and one on the Lower Chagres river. Two
lakes will thus be formed, the upper one siijiplying water to the higher
portion of the canal, while the lower one will be mainly usc<l to furnish
water for the navigation of the lower j)art. Ten locks will be built, en-
abling the canal to reach a height of 170 feet above the sea level. Sir
Henry bolds that there is no insiijauable didiculty in the compUdion of
the canal in six years, at a cost of .filOO, 000,000, by utilizing the w<wk
already done for a distance of sixteen ndles from C<don ami four miles
from Panama.”

THE TEHUANTEPEC SHIP RAILWAY

COMPARATIVE TABLE: NICARAGU*A AND PANAMA ROUTES.

Nicaragua.

Panama — Lock-
level plan.

Natural distance, sea to sea miles. .

Present distance, sea to sea miles. .

Natural altitude, continental pass feet. .

Same, as reduced by artificial cutting, .feet. .

Miles of river course, Caribbean side

iVIiles of river course below site of propo.sed

dams

Proportion of above diverted bj' artificial cut-
ting

Proposed height, summit level feet. .

Proposed dams to create summit level

Miles of proposed summit navigation

Proposed locks

Excavation (miles originally proposed)

iNIiles of excavation completed for lock plan.
Miles of excavation to be completed for lock

plan

Terminal harbors

Plant on ground for completion. .

Estimated cost to complete canals

169.5

147

111

110

144.8

40.3

None.

$133,500,000

42.5

260

246

125

12 or 21
6

42.5

15-20

101

Completed.

All.

$116,000,000'

1 Tlie adoption of tlie lock-level plan will avoid several miles of e.xcavation originally
contemplated in sea-level plan. 2 U. S. Commission.

THE TEHUANTEPEC SHIP RAILWAY
By Elmer L. Corthell, C. E., D. Sc., etc.

The Avoiid is still discussing the question of the best route by
Avhicli to fiicilitate interoceanic traffic bettveen the Atlantic and
the Pacific. Coniinercial interests now center on three routes —
Panama, Nicaragua, and Tehuantepec. The first has entailed
enormous exiienses on France and involved many of its promi-
nent citizens in serious conqdications ; the second has been spe-
cially urged on the United States as the Ameriean route; the
third, advocated for many years by a great genius, has been ad-
vanced to snch a stage liy Mexico as to be the only Avork that
jiresent conditions haA'e justified.

Addressing ourselves to the advantages of the Tehuantepec
route, its interesting construetive, commercial, and geographic
features must be prefaced by a brief historical resume. The

THE TEHUANTEPEC SHIP PAILWAY

(55

Mexican republic in 1824 invited proposals to open the isthmian
route, but internal dissensions delayed action. In 1842 Santa
Anna granted a charter to Jose de Garay, but the only tangible
result was the complete survey of the isthmus by Gaetano iNIoro,
an able Italian engineer. In 1850 efforts to negotiate treaty
rights for the United States in this respect failed ; but by the
Tehuantepec Railroad Company, chartered l)y Mexico, exhaust-
ive surveys of the route were made, under the direction of Gen.
J. G. Barnard, U. S. A., hy Mr J. J. Williams, whose report of 1852
is the most complete ever published. In 1868 the Loui.siana
Tehuantei)ec Company conducted a large trans])ortation Imsi-
ness of freight and passengers over a partly built Avagon road,
but its charter of 1857 AA^as soon forfeited. The life of tlie La
Sere grant of 1867, nullified in 1879, AA^as marked l)y the active
interest of the United States in the proldem of interoceanic com-
munication. In 1870 Commodore Shufeldt, sailing Avith an able
corj)s of army and navy assistants, exhaustively surveyed Te-
lAuantepec and Nicaragua, and in his report strongly advocated
the Tehuantepec route for its many adA'antages. Mexico coop-
erated in an independent survey under Sehor M. F. Leal, noAV
her secretary of })ublic Avorks.

It Avas President Diaz Avho initiated railroad construction and
has so earnestly persisted in efforts to open an international route
aenjss this isthmus. Under the charter of 1878 Mr EdAvard
Learned, an American, constructed 22 miles, receiving a sul)sidy
of 812,000 })er mile, but in 1882 he surrendered his charter to
tlie Mexican go A'ernment, receiving, l)y arbitration under charter
pnn'isions, 8125,000 in Mexican sih'er and 81,500,000 in gold.
These futile i)riA'ate effijrts led Mexico to undertake the AAork
herself; Imt she soon rcA'erted to the contract .system, and undei-
Mr 1). Sanchez, a Mexican, some miles of track Avere laid on the
Atlantic and Pacific sides at an expense of 81,484,185 in Mexican
silver. In 1882 a loan of £2,700,000 AA'as negotiate<l, and Mr E.
Me.Murdo, of London, contracted to repair the track built and
complete the road pro|)cr. Much Avork Avas done, but Mr Mc-
Murdo di(;d and the contract AA'as abrogated, tlu' company hav-
ing failed to comply Avith its terms. Some 82,000,000 of Mexican
silvia* remained, and Avith this sum and an additional ai)pro|)ri-
ation of 81,111,985 in silver Messrs ( .'4. Stanho])e, J. IL llanip-
son, and F. L. Corthell completed tin* railroad in 1804. Mc'xico
now operates it and is spending 81,990.000 in gold, under a con-
tract with Mr S. Ilermanos, to perfect the e<|uipment and (iidsh
6

THE TEHUANTEPEC SHIP RAILWAY

some permanent structures. Since 1878, including the last con-
tract and excluding interest, Mexico has silent on the route
$16,000,00(1 in gold and $2,670,170 in Mexican silver.

The completion and o})eration of this railroad will greatly fa-
cilitate the construction of the ship railway when the time arrives
to build it, as it ma}' with great advantage be employed to dis-
tribute supplies, materials, and laborers along the line of the ship
railway, and thus be used as an auxiliary line, which Mr Eads
had intended to build in advance for this pur^jose.

Permit me now to state the part taken by Mr Eads in solving
the problem of interoceanic transit. In a letter to the New York
Tribune, June 10, 1879, he advocated a ship railway at Panama
instead of a shi}> canal. As against the douldful in-oject of a
ship canal and in favor of a ship railway" he said :

“ My own studies have satisfied me of the entire feasibility of such tran.s-
])ortation by railroad, and I have no hesitation in saying that for a sum
not e.xceeding one-third of the estimated cost of the canal, namely, about
$.■>0,000,000, the largest ships which enter the port of New York can be
transferred, when fully loaded, Avith absolute safety across the isthmus,
on a railway constructed for the purpose, within twenty-four hours from
the moment they are taken in charge in one sea until they are delivered
into the other, ready to depart on their journev.”

I le urged the construction of a ship raihvay on De Lesseps, but
the great Frenchman said, “A canal at sea level or nothing.” He
found nothing, at a cost not of $120,000,000, but of $2.50,000,000.

IMr Eads then turned his attention to the much more advan-
tageous route at Tehuante'pee, only 800 miles from the Mississipj)!
jetties, and it was my good fortune to 1 >e henceforth associated Avith
him until his death.

The concessions of INIay, 1881, modihed in 188.5, provided for
the construction and operation of the ship railAvay for 99 years.
Many liberal provisions Avere included, such as the donation of
about 2,700,000 acres of land, ample rights of Avay, right to col-
lect tonnage and Avharf dues. Far the most valuable grant was
the guaranty that one-third of the net revenue of the coinpaii}’’
for fifteen years from the opening of the raihvay should amount
to $1,2.50,000, Avith the right to secure a similar guaranty for
$2,500,000 to cover the remaining tAvo-thirds of the interest from
foreign nations, but Avith the understanding that this guaranty
should be sought from the United States.

IMr Eads made the plans Avith his customary skill, and after
obtaining the approval of many ijrominent naval architects and

THE TEHUANTEPEC SHIP 1'

Longitmle

Sierra 'S.MartinWf.

jJiV o m, ii r e e n w i c h

Ihi/fameca

Paso nuevo

!pteapam^g°^°'eacaqu(

oMnlnacan

ACAYUCANg J^tiparjj^

’^napa

Almajroj

v^sGaleras

Incat

I^Mari^

>/iuen]

Chihuitan,

JUCHITAN

MAP OP THE

Isthmus of Tehuantepec

Showing the Houles of the
National Railroad of Tehuantepec
and the iirnposed
' EADS SHIP RAILWAY.

-r l/uusa-
ISFKHIO'Hy

uni: m OH

THE TEHUANTEPEC SHIP RAILWAY

engineers came to the United States Congress with a hill for the
charter contemplated in the Mexican concession. Scarcely two
months later the promoters of the Nicaragua canal came before
Congress with a somewhat similar measure, and the two projects
antagonized each other up to the death of Mr Eads, in 1887.

Meanwhile the most exhaustive survey's were made and a satis-
hxctorw route was laid doAvn between the ocean terminals of the
isthmus. The requirements of the charter as to beginning con-
struction work were fully complied with, and the amount of con-
struction work done l)y Mr Eads will he best appreciated by the
statement that about $500,000 in gold was exi)ended.

From the Tehuantepec railroad to the Panama railroad, meas-
ured along the Pacific coast, is al)out 1,200 statute miles, and to
the Nicaragua canal aljout 800 miles. All commerce from these
more southern routes must pass directly by the Pacific terminus
of the Tehuantepec railroad in going to San Francisco, Oregon,
Yokohama, or Hongkong. On the Atlantic side Tehuantepec
has similar advantages in distance over southern routes. The
calculation shows that on eighteen routes to be affected by open-
ing u]) Te]iuantc[)ec the aggregate saving in distance over the
present cape routes and Panama is over 125,000 miles and l)y sail
routes nearly 200,000 miles.

Mr Thomas J. Vivian, an expert statistician of the Census Office,
was engaged to make a report upon the probable traffic on the
proposed ship railway. The results of his very careful and ex-
tended investigation and his clear analysis and groujnng of a
great number of facts fully justified his selection. The detailed
estimates show that in 1896 we might expect a traffic of 5,288,000
tons of freight, if the railroad Avere fully equipped and sufficient
time had elai)sed to develop the ncAV commerce. At a rate of $2
per ton, to include handling and transpoiding from ship to ship,
and adding to the total receipts from freight the passenger re-
ceipts, Ave AA’ill have a gross income of $10,576,000. Estimating
the operating expenses at 60 per cent of the gross receipts, Avhich
for through traffic is sufficient, Ave shall have a net income of
$4,294,000. The estimates of traffic for a ship raihvay, in the
same conservative manner, give a total traffic for 1 896 of 7,263,000
tons, Avhich at $2 per ton Avbuld yield a gross income of $14,526,000.
Assuming the cost per ton for transporting from ocean to ocean,
including all expenses, at 50 cents, the net income Avould be
$11,044,000.

The cost of moving steamships through any canal on the

THE TEHUANTEPEC SHIP PAIL Till I'

American istlimus will amount to more than the cost of operat-
ing the ship railway. The time in transit through the restricted
channels and locks at Nicaragua will be twice as great as the
time I’equired on the ship railway, and will eyen exceed the time
required on the railroad to load on the ears, haul across the isth-
mus, and reload into yessels. The Suez canal, immeasurably
easier to maintain than any canal would he at either Panama or
Nicaragua, cost for maintenance and working in 1883 $2,784,869.
A careful study of the cost of operating the ship railway gives a
safe estimate of 30 cents per ton. I haye no dou1)t that with a
traffic of 7,000,000 tons this is ample, but I haye decided to use
50 cents per ton in the present estimate. As to the cost of pre-
paring the three routes under comparison for a large traffic, the
ship railway, fully equipped for canning yessels weighing 10,000
tons and 7,000,000 tons of freight, will cost on a cash basis about
$60,000,000. I shall not estimate the cost of building a ship canal
at Panama or Nicaragua. The former, parti}" comjffeted — cer-
tainly not over one-half — has already cost probably $250,000,000
in cash and the plan changed from a sea-level canal to a lock
canal, the practicability of wliich is extremely doubtful, due to
inadequate water supply in the dry season ; and as to Nicaragua,
we mu.st rely u))on the report, soon to be made public, of the able
board of engineers appointed by the Presidcmt.

4'he presentation of the subject will not be coni})lete without
a re.sume of the jjroposed method of carrying shij)S overland by
railway, for avc are aecustomed to regard any method that has
not the sanction of use as visionary.

Many ])r()jects for commercial sliii) railways have been made
during the last thirty years. In 1872 Brunlees and ^Vebb, of
Great Britain, made plans for a sliii) railway across the American
isthmus at Honduras, which would haye l)een built but for the
financial depression that. soon followed. It was intended to trans-
])ort vessels of 1,200 tons register. The United States (‘ngineers
have designed a steamboat railway to avoid tlie dangerous navi-
gation of The Dalles of the Columbia river. The project and
]»lans have receivcsl the ai)])roval of Congr((Ss and an api)ro])ria-
tion of $100,000 lias been made to begin work. The ship railway
of Nova Seotiii, designed by Mr H. G. C. Ketchum, Sir .John
Fowler, and Sir Benjamin baker, to connect the gulf of St. Ivaw-
rence with the hay of Fundy, d(‘serv(!s special attention, as it is
nearly eonipleh'd. ( )f the $5,500,000 required, all hut $1 ,500,000
has been expended. The line is about 17 miles long, and by-

THE TEHUANTEPEC SHIP RAILWA Y

draulic lifts are used for raising the vessels. The platform on
Avhich the car and vessel rest is about 40 feet wide. There are
20 hydraulic presses, each 25 inches in diameter, with a stroke
of 40 feet, and the sy.stem is capable of lifting a vessel carrying
1,000 tons of cargo. There are two tracks of standard gauge,
18-foot centers, with rails weighing 110 pounds per linear }’ard.
This ship railway would now Ije in operation hut for the lapi^e

MAP SHOWING THE LOCATION OF THE CHIGNECTO SHIP RAILWAY, TO CONNECT THE
GULF OF ST. LAWRENCE AND THE BAY OF FUNDY.

of the government charter during a tem])orary failure of funds
for construction. It is confidently expected that a rencAval of
the charter and an extension of time will soon l)e granted. The
hopes of all advocates of ship-railway methods are centered in
this comparatively small railway at C'hignecto.

The main features of the ship railway designed for the Tehuan-
tepec isthmus are terminal docks jirovided with a great lifting
steel pontoon, which was sunken with the ship carriage to the-

THE TEHUANTEPEC SHIP RAILWAY

bottom of a dock, guided in its movements b}'’ a large niimlier of
vertical C}dinders. The ship is then tloated in over the carriage
and placed in exact position, the pontoon is pmni)ed out, and
the continuous keel block comes in contact with the keel of the
vessel, Avhen a system of hydraulic rams working through the
deck of the caisson pushes the keel block closel}" against the keel
and also a large number of 1 >ilge blocks and side supports against
the side of the vessel. Each one moving up vertically comes in
contact with the ship, Avhen the adjustable surfaces of each sup-
port, which is faced with rubber, take the form of the vessel by
means of a universal hinged joint. The Aveight of the vessel is
thus uniformily distributed, according to the principle on Avhich
the hydraulic system Avas designed.

The locomotives are then coupled ou and the vessel hauled to
the opposite terminal, Avhere it is set afloat by exactly the reverse
process. At tAvo points on the isthmus it becomes necessary, in
order to obtain grades of not more than 1 per cent and to secure
a practically straight line, to arrange for an abrupt change of
direction, Avhich is done by a great floating turntable, simply a
hollow pontoon grounded on the bottom of a masonry basin
Avhen the car is hauled upon it, and then raised slightly upon its
bearings by pumping Avater into the basin and made to revolve
around a vertical central axis or guide until it takes the neAV
direction.

There is an important advantage Avhich the ship railAvays have
OA'er the ship canals in the American isthmus, particularly in such
rainy portions of it as Panama and Nicaragua, the rainfall at the
latter place ranging from 200 inches to 300 inches per annum.
The adA'antage lies in the fact that a ship raihvay is ahvays alcove
the floods, Avhile the canal is alAVays IacIoav them and menaced at
all times by most serious dangers.

The Nicaragua route has been considered the American route.
If it is so, then the Tehuantc])ec route is still more American in
reference to all commercial features, and certainly is of more im-
])ortance to us from a strategic point of vicAV than any route out
of the piril)bean.

The cl(;ar and decided vieAA's of Admiral Shufeldt upon its ad-
A’antages Avere exjtresscd as folloAvs:

“ Kadi iHtliimiH rinoH into importance as it lies ncar(*r tlic center of
American political and commercial inlluence, and the intrin.sic value of
this eminently national work oii^dit to he hased niion the inver.«(* ratio of
the difitance from that center. A canal throne'll the isthmn.s of Telman-

THE TEHUANTEPEC SHIP RAIUVAY

tepee is an extension of the ^Mississippi river to the Pacific ocean. It
converts tlie gulf of IMexico into an American lake. In time of war it
closes that gulf to all enemies. It is the only route whicli our Govern-
ment can control. So to sj^eak, it renders our own territory circum-
navigable. It brings New Orleans 1,400 nautical miles nearer to San
Francisco than a canal via Darien.”

The Tehuantepec route can Ije made more easily accessible to
the United States and Mexico by railroad, over which armies and
munitions of war can he quickly trans})orted. The gulf of Mexico
is clear of foreign complications, belongs to these two great re-
})uhlics of the Ncav M’orld, and wdien Cuba shall have become a
State of the Union, as it may in the near future, we shall hold
tlie entire circuit of this great sea. If, on the other hand, you
look upon any Englisli map of the ('aril)bean sea you will notice
that this great j)ower holds every entrance to it. Belonging to
(treat Britain there are about twenty-five ditferent countries and
islands, from British Guiana on the east to British Honduras on
tlie ivest, which lying directly in front of Panama and Nicaragua
guard all ajiproach to them. This important fact is not suffi-
ciently appreciated in our plans for making the Nicaragua canal
a United States canal, to he controlled, fortified, and defended
by our com])aratively small nav}" against the preponderating
naval ]>owers of Eunqie.

Pn'sident Diaz is so fully convinced of the superior advantages
of even an ordinal’}' railroad at Tehuantejiec over any other route
located at more southerly ])oints that, in the face of the comstant
menace of the Nicaragua jiroject, he has gone forward, in spite
of stringent financial conditions in IMexico, to complete the
National Railroad of Tehuantepec, and nmv that it is completed
to ])rovide ade(piate harbor terminal facilities and equipment for
a large interoceanic traffic. He looks upon the consummation
of this great commercial undertaking as one of the most benefi-
cent works of his long and glorious administration.

[Note.— The foregoing ariicle is an abstract of a lecture delivered before the National
Geographic Society, November 22, 189.>. The lecture was considered so important a
contribution to the literature of interoceanic communication that it has been printed
in full as a public document by order of the Senate. See Senate Document No. 34, 54th
Congress, 1st Session.]

THE PRESENT STATE OF THE NICARAGUA CANAL

By General A. W. Greely,

Chief Signal Officer, United States Army

The economic, physical, political, and strategic advantages of
the Nicaragua canal have been so fully dwelt upon that their
• presentation here is not called for, especially in view of the forth-
coming report to Congress of the National Commission on this
interoceanic waterway. This article is viewed as supjdementarv
to the articles on the Panama Canal Route and the Tehuantepec
Ship Railway, in order that the readers of The National Geo-
graphic Magazine may know the amount of work done on the
Nicaragua canal to date, its possible cost as given by the corpo-
ration engineers, and also as estimated by the National Commis-
sion, which latter forecast b}'- the press is subject to correction.
The following summaiy covers the main features of the work.

The concession for the canal was granted by Nicaragua to tbe
IMaritime Canal Company of Nicaragua, incori)orated under act
of Congress February 20, 1889, which comjiany reports annu-
ally to the Secretary of the Interior. Statements relative to
work done are drawn from its ro})ort of Decemlier 3, 1892. This
corporation contracted with the Nicaragua Construction Com-
I)any for the construction of the canal. In the s})ring of 1889
detailed surveys of canal, locks, harbors, etc., were com])letcd,
the final location of the route was jiractically determined, and,
after jn-eliminary oi)crations, the work of actual construction
began October 9, 1889. To restore Greytown harbor a break-
water extending 1,000 feet into tbe ocean was built and lilled
in with hrush mattresses, rock, and hydraulic-cement concrete.
A channel of 10 feet formed naturally, which was increased by
dredging to 15 feet, and thus maintained until tin* accretions to
the beach on the windward side of the jetty reaehed its outward
extremity, when the sand ])assed to leeward and partially clos(‘(l
the new entrance. Five groU])S of ])erman(‘nt buildings were
erected near San Juan, ineluding olliees, hospitals, storehouses,
etc., which covered an area of 1 i{ acres. In addition, freight
wharves, machine sho|»s, etc., were Imilt, and the more impoi-

7.t

74 THE PRESENT STATE OF THE NICARAGUA CANAL

taut estal)lishments were eoniieeted by tramway. A clearing
4()8 feet wide was made through the dense forest growth from
Gi'eytown inland a distance of 10 miles, and a similar clearing
of 0 miles was made to the west of Lake Nicaragua. A telegrapli
line of 60 miles extended inland to Castillo, and this system was
su[)plemented by telephonic side service. A harbor wharf 260
feet long was built and equij)ped with modern steam conveniences
for handling freight. A railway was constructed from Greytown
a distance of 12 miles, with sidings, and was equipped with four
locomotives, tifty ears, and suitable modern apparatus for rail-
way and canal construction. The road built is of the most diffi-
cult character, as it traverses for 6 miles a swamp considered
impassable, where a large amount of corduiw and fill-work was
re(|uired. The railwa}’ line was surve}'ed to Ochoa and its loca-
tion determined, as well as from Lake Nicaragua to the Pacific.

The contractors secured for their work the plant of the Amer-
ican Dredging Comi)any, formerly used at Panama, consisting of
seven ])owerful dredges, two tugs, twenty lighters, pumps, etc.
Dredging commenced Avest of Gre^down harbor in 1890, and
there was oi)ene'd to a point well inland — 1} miles — a channel 17
feet deep and from 150 to 230 feet Avide. The Machuca rapids,
San Juan riA'er, Avere materially improved for steamboat naAuga-
tion. In addition to this, exhaustive surveys and borings Avere
made in connection Avith the Ochoa dam, I^a Flor dam, and other
important i)oints on the route. The superior employes Avere
American, Avhile the unskilled labor Avas performed by natives
of Central America and by Jamaica negroes. The health of the
emploves has been unusually good, the total deaths in three
years giving a rate of 1.48 per cent of cases treated.

On November 9, 1890, the Nicaraguan government officially
declared that the company had complied Avith the article requir-
ing an expenditure of $2,000,000 during the first year of Avork,
thus confirming for a term of ten years the company’s conces-
sionaiy rights. The financial troubles of 1893 first compelled
the Nicaragua Canal Construction Company, under contract to
build the canal, to limit its expenditures to the preservation of
its ])lant, and finally to suspend all payments, Avhich resulted in
a receiver l)eing appointed b}' a United States court in August,
1893. The reconstruction of the contracting company has been
accomplished, under the name of the Nicaragua Company, and
it is noAV making preparations for resuming AVork on the canal.

MeanAvhile the United States Senate, in connection Avith bills

THE PRESENT STATE OF THE NICARAGUA CANAL

for aiding the construction of this canal, has carefully considered
the whole subject, including the operations of the cor[>orations
mentioned above. Three favorable reports have Ijeen made — two
by iNlr Sherman, No. 1944, Fifty-first Congress, Second Session,
and No. 1142, Fifty-first Congress, Second Session. The last, by
INlr IMorgan, No. 331, Fifty-second Congress, Second Session, on
April 14. 1894, adopts and reprints the first two reports. It
appears that the INIaritime Canal Company expended between
October 5, 1889, and October 7, 1890, S3,099,971,and that the total
expenditures of the construction compan}^ aggregate $4,451,508.

The total length of the canal is to be 169.45 miles, of which
26.78 miles will be excavated canal and 142.67 free navigation,
and there will be three locks on each side of Lake Nicaragua.
The cost of the canal, equipped for full service and extending to
deep water in both oceans through completed harbors, was esti-
mated by Chief Engineer A. G. Menocal at $65,084,176, includ-
ing 25 per cent for contingencies. These estimates were increased
l)V a revisionary board of five distinguished engineers — J. Bogart,
E. T. D. Myers, A. i\I. Wellington, H. A. Hitchcock, and C. T.
Harvey — to $73,166,308, which amount other special contingen-
cies augmented to $87,799,570; interest charges would raise the
grand total to $100,000,000. The Senate committee states, how-
ever, that all work done has fallen within ]\Ir Menocal ’s estimates.
The reports dwell upon the value of this interoceanic waterway
to the United States, strategically, politically, and also econom-
ically. The committee })laced the outside limit of the cost of the
Nicaragua canal at $100,000,000, and it therefore recommended
that the United States guarantee $70,000,000 of 3 per cent bonds,
which would vest the United States with the ownership of 70
})er cent of the entire capital stock.

The final outcome of this report was the authorization by Con-
gre.ss of the ai>pointment of a commission of engineers to examine
and report upon the route and surve3's of the Nicaragua canal.

This commission, consisting of Col. \\h P. Ludlow, U. S. Arm}' ;
M. T. E ndicott, U. S. Navy, and Alfred Noble, in the summer of
1895 examined the route and such of the work as had been done,
ami submitted its report to the President, by whom it will be
transmitted to the ])resent Congress. 44ic character and sub-
stance of the report have not been odiciall}' made public.

fi'he New York Herald of November 25, 1895, put forth de-
tailed accounts of the ri“])ort, which lack ollieial eonlirmation.
'I'he salient le'atures of this article set forth that the commission

76 THE PRESENT STATE OF THE NICARAGEA CANAL

lias increased the canal company’s estimate of 869,893,660 to a
“ provisional ” estimate of 8133.472,893. Anthoritative estimates
can be obtained only at the cost of 8250,000 for an exhaustive
survey covering two dry seasons. The present location from
Orevtown to Brito is practically condemned, and it is suggested
that the entrance to Greytown harbor should he moved east-
Avard and its depth increased to 6 fathoms ; that the Brito harbor
should he moved southeastAvard and its breakwater extended con-
sideraldy, and that the canal should he moved south of Bernard
lagoon and he straightened, etc. The proposed rock-tilled dam
at Ochoa, across a iioAverful river and on a sand foundation, pre-
sents grave difficulties, and should be Imilt only after careful
study; it should })referal)ly be replaced by a masonry structure.
The ])hysical conditions and regimen of San Juan river and Lake
Nicaragua should be carefully studied; the proposed channel
e.xcavated to Avidths varying from 250 to 400 feet instead of from
125 to 150 feet ; all locks should be Avidened to 80 feet, so as to
l)ermit the i>assage of Avar A'essels; rainfall ohseiwations should be
instituted OA'er the Avhole route; all streams be gauged, and full
e.\j)lorations of alternatiA’e routes be made in the eastern diA'ision.

These recommendations of the commission for a deeper and
Avider channel, for the construction of pa.ssing points, a reduc-
tion in lock-lift, more cai)acious and deeper harbors, and a more
stable construction, are in the direction of desirable improA’e-
ments, Avhich, hoAVCA'er. ])ractieally double the cost of the canal.

Even should these enhanced estimates be correct, and should
the conseiwatiA'e judgment of the commission he fully indorsed
by other engineers, it remains to l)e seen Avhether a feAV millions
of dollars, more or le.ss, shall stand in the AA'ay of securing an inter-
oceanic communication Avhich the Senate committee has said “ is
indispensable to our physical and political geography and to the
])ro{>er care* of the Government for the protection and prosperity
of our Pacific coasts.”

In A’icw of the national intere.st taken in this question, and
especially at this juncture, it Avould seem that no backAvard step
should he taken that Avould tend to Aveaken the poAver and in-
fluence of the United States as the dominating factor in the Avel-
fore of the American continents. From an American standpoint
this canal seems to he a necessity, not only for our oavu com-
mercial interests and national protection, but also as part of our
‘‘ i>ul)lic policy of uniting the republics of America by Avorks of
])eaceful deA'elopment.”

EXPLORATIONS BY THE BUREAU OF AMERICAN
ETHNOLOGY IN 1895

By W J McGee

The most extended exploratory work of the year was that of
an expedition in charge of the writer through the territory occu-
pied by the Papago Indians in Arizona and Sonora, and by tlie
Seri Indians in western Sonora and on Tibnron and Alcatraz
islands, in the gulf of California. During 1894 an expedition
was carried through Papagueria and into the borderland of the
Seri country for the ])urpose of making collections among the
Indians of both tril)es, and the object of the expedition of 1895
was to obtain supplemental information concerning the social
organization of the Papago Indians, but especially to explore the
territoiy of the Seri and to make studies of and collections repre-
senting the maritime habits of these Indians. The part}" out-
fitted in Tucson early in November, cro.ssed the frontier at Sasahe,
and spent three weeks in visiting the villages of Papagueria and
in surveying extensive prehistoric works left by a people of some-
what advanced culture, probably the ancestors of the modern
Papago. Mr Millard D. Johnson, who formed one of the party,
carried forward a planetable survey, which will yield the first
trirstworthy map of the region. Entering the Seri territory early
in December, the party explored the area lying west of Bacuachi
river and the delta of Sonora river, making a station on the
highe.st point (about 5,000 feet) in the range provisionally desig-
nated the Seri mountains, and afterward embarked in a small
boat in that ])ortion of the gulf of California commonly map])ed
as Kino bay, coasted to the strait El Infiernillo, and crossed over
to an<l ex|)l(^red and surveyed Tiburon island, ddie country of
the Seri Indians was found to be clearly set apart by natural
features from the body of Sonora. Tiburon island is separated
by a turbulent strait from the mainland, while the mountainous
maiidand area contiguous to the strait is still more elh'ctively
barred fnjin interior Sonora by a broad desert zone of saline
playas and sand dunes something like the Mojave desert of Cali-
fornia; indeed, some of the obs(‘rvations indicate that this zone

EXPLORATIONS BY THE

lies below sea level, and that it was during recent geologic times
cut off from the gulf by the delta of Sonora river and afterward
desiccated by eva})oration. The territory bounded by this desert
barrier is mountainous, yet exceedingly arid ; it is two or three
thousand square miles in area, including about five hundred
sciuare miles comprised in Tiburon island. The territory is
claimed and exclusively held by the Seri Indians, a distinct
aboriginal stock, who have been at war with all other peoples
almost constantly from time immemorial and are now reduced to
some 400 in numl>er. These Indians are of especial interest from
tlieir isolation, from a more warlike disposition and a more primi-
tive culture than api)car among otlier known people of North
America, and from a variety of features connected with these
characteristics. They are of si)lendid physique, with notably
dark skin ; they live chiefiy on the tiesh of turtles and other ma-
rine (jrganisms, })artly on game and wild fruits, most of their
food being eaten raw ; they are without agriculture, and have no
domestic animals save a few dogs ; their habitations are tiinrsy
lodges of shrubbery and turtle shells; the}' are scantily clotlied,
chiefiy in pelican skins ; they navigate their waters by means of
the balsa, manufacture simj)le baskets and a distinctive pottery,
and make efficient use of excellent l>ows and arrows, yet their
stone art is l)elow the stage commonly called paleolithic; and
they have a singular marriage custom tending to pert)etuate their
isolation. No i)rehistoric works, save such as they now produce,
are found in their territory. While the Indians fled at the ap-
})roach of the party, considerable collections were made in the
rancherias they had just deserted, the articles designed for barter
with them being left in exchange. In addition to the ethnologic
researches and ma])ping, somewhat careful studies were made of
the flora, fauna, and geologic development of the entire area trav-
ersed by the expedition. The exploration of the Seri country,
hitherto unknown except as to the coast, was attended with some
risk and hardship, due chiefly to dearth of water, but was with-
out casualty.

In December, 1894, IMr James Mooney began a special study of
tlie Kiowa Indians in Oklahoma. He recently returned from the
field, after nearly ten months of successful Avork. The KioAva
Indians j)0ssess a highly interesting calendar system of strictly
aboriginal character, and this system Avas one of the subjects of
Mr Mooney’s researches. Leading personages of the tribe keep
a sort of year book in Avhich the principal events of the seasons

BURE A V OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY IN 1S95

7<>

are recorded in rude conventional s^unbols, the years being indi-
cated by conspicuous symbols for the winter season, in conse-
cpienceof which the records are sometimes denominated “ winter
counts.” IMr Mooney Avas able to collect a considerable number
of these calendars, which are of special interest as records of the
history and migrations of the tribe during the last half century.
From the records and from accompanying verbal statements,
carefully checked by comparing different accounts, it is learned
that this tribe of the plains is among the widest wanderers of
their race. Although their original hal)itat was in the middle
plains, they were accustomed to send parties on trading and ma-
rauding expeditions eastward into the trans-Mississippi forests,
Avestward into and be3''ond the Rocky mountains, nortliAvard to
the SaskatcheAA'an, and soutliAvard over the deserts of northern
Mexico as far as Durango, and even across tlie Sierra Madre to
the vicinity of the Pacific, near Mazatlan. These records of tlie
KioAva calendars explain the Avide distribution of primitive art
products over the United States and corroborate the evidence of
Avidely scattered obsidian, copper, sea shells, etc., as to the extent
of aboriginal commerce.

A notalffe expedition of the season Avas that of Dr .J. M^alter
FeAAdces,Avho explored the little-knoAvn canyons of the Mogollon
escar])inent in central Arizona and aftei’Avard made extensive
collections of prehistoric pottery near Kearns canyon. While on
the headwaters of the Rio Verde, along the face of the great escar])-
ment, he Avas so fortunate as to discover extensive ruins of clitf-
bouses, some of Avhich shoAved no evidence of exploration, and
from these considerable collections of interesting archeologic ma-
terial Avere made. His principal results AA^ere obtained at the
preliistoric pueblo of Sikyatki, near Kearns canyon. Here, in
com])an}' Avith Mr F. ^\^ Hodge, he excavated a ruin known from
tradition, as Avell as from the collection of objects discovered,
to be prehistoric. A large quantity of finely decorated pottery
AA’ith a.ssociated objects aa^is obtained. The pt)ttery includes
many examples of the finest grade of aboriginal work in texture,
finisli, and decoration. The collection, Avhich com[)rises nearly
7IH) eartheiiAvare utensils, beside numerous objects of Avood, stone,
bone, etc., has been brought to Washington and is now in tlie
National Museum. Competent judges are of opinion that it is
the finest single collection of prehistoric pottery thus far made
on the Western Hemisphere.

After leaA’ing Sikyatki .Mr Hodge made a tour of the pueblos

GEOGRAPHIC LITERATURE

of New Mexico, beginning at Zuni, then visiting Laguna and
Acoma, and in turn the villages scattered along the upper Rio-
Grande and tributar}’ valleys from Isleta to Taos. The primary
object of this reconnoissance was the identification of the namea
of certain “ jwovinces,” tribes, and pueblos mentioned by Spanish
explorers in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and the col-
lection of data relating to the ethnology, and especially to the
kinship systems, of the Pueblos, of which comparatively little
has hitherto been known. In these investigations Mr Hodge was
very successful, for except among the Tiwa he was enalded to
obtain complete records of all the clans, both existing and ex-
tinct, and from all the tribes (including the Pecos, of whom there
are but two survivors) much valuable data which will contribute
to the identification of tribal and village names of Spanish record,
as well as bearing on their cosmogony, migrations, etc. He also
succeeded in locating on the Rio Grande the village whence the
llano people of Tusayan migrated nearl}^ two centuries ago; in
determining rjuite clearly that the pueblos of Kawaika and Pai-
yupki at Tusayan were abandoned during the historic period,
the inhabitants moving to Laguna and Sandia respectively, and
that de.scent among the Tewa people, at least in Xambe, Santa
,;..Clara, and Tesuque, is agnatic, while among all other ^meblos
descent is invariably in the line of the mother. These and many
otlier problems which in the past have puzzled ethnologists not
a little Mr Hodge has at last been able to solve.

GEOGRAPHIC LITERATURE

TJie Ydloustone National Park: Historical and descriptive. Illustrated
with maps, views, and portraits. By Hiram ^lartin Chittenden, Cap-
tain, Corps of Engineere, U. S. A. Pp. 397. Cincinnati: The Robert
Clarke Company. 1895. §1.. 50 net.

This book comprises three parts, “Historical,” “Description,” and
“Tiie Future.” The first contains an excellent summary of the early
trappers’ tales regarding this region, showing, as is well known, that they
were not unacquainted with its marvels. It recounts the Washburn and
Hayden expedition.s, the legislation e.stablishing the National Park, and
the numerous army expeditions which for exploration or pleasure have
traversed it. . It summarizes also the administration of the park. The
second part describes rather inadequately the topography, geology, fauna
and flora of the region, and then, in the ordinary guide-book form, de-
scribes “a tour of the park.” The third part, which is very brief, only

GEOGRAPHIC LITERATURE

18 pages in length, is devoted mainly to re-stating the well-known argu-
ments against permitting the entrance of railroads. The book closes with
a series of appendices comprising a list of geographic names, with their
origin, the legislation affecting the park and rules for its administration,
a statement of appropriations for its maintenance, a list of its superin-
tendents, and a bibliography. It is difficult to place this book. It ranks
for above the ordinary guide-book, yet as a history its value is lessened
b\' the military bias of the writer, and as a geographic work, descrij^tive
of this interesting region, it may be characterized by the statement tliat
onh’ 14 pages are devoted to its geography and geology, 13 to geysers and
hot springs, and 11 to the native life of the region. The book is profusely
illustrated with beautiful cuts, and contains several maps, but the latter
are not in keeping with the typography and with the other illustrations.

Sixteenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey. Part III :
^lineral Resources of the United States, 1894, ^Metallic products. Pp.
648. Washington, 1895.

It is not easy to recognize in the handsome royal octavo volume before
us the mineral report of the Geological Survey, which has hitherto ap-
peared in so much less attractive a form. Although Dr Day’s reports no
longer constitute a series by themselves, they cannot be said to have lost
even in imlividuality, for the new volume is so profusely illustrated with
maps and diagrams and is in almost every other respect so distinctly
superior to its predecessors as not only to add greatly to its practical value,
but to place it in the verj^ front rank of those admirable publications with
which the Uniteil States government enriches from time to time the scien-
tific literature of the world. The report contains statistics of the produc-
tion of the various metallic minerals (those of the non-metallic are to follow
in a separate volume) in the different states of the Union ; hut it does more
than this. It presents like statistics (in many cases extending over a long
Series of years) for other countries, together with tables of exports and
imports. In atldition to these statistical compilations it contains several
hundred pages of intere.sting and instructive te.xt on the geographic dis-
tribution of the mineral resources of the world, in the.preparation of which
several enunent experts hav'e been specially employed. The volume is,
in short, a veritable mine of valuable information concerning some of the
most important branches of human industry.

Terrestrial Magiu-tisni: .\n International (Quarterly Journal. Publislu'd
under the Auspices of the Ryenson Physical Laboratory, A. A. Michel-
son. Director. Cldcago, University Press. Vol. I, Xo. I, January,
1896. Edited by L. .\. P>auer, witli the Codi)eration of a large Number
of American ami Foreign Associates.

Tlie compass is a very (jld invention, the discovery its north and
south jfointing j)ropcrty having been made by the Chinese centuries ago
It is more than four centuries since it receiveil a (lxe<l i>lace in navigation
under the name Mariner’s Compass. That it docs not point tridy north
and sontli hut deiiartsor declines from the lueriilian was known inCohmi-
biis’ day. At that time it was supposed that the departure from true
north, or declination of the needle, was constant f<jr any one i>lace, thougli

GEOGRAPHIC LITERATURE

not the same in all places. That it is not always the same at any one
place is said to have been discovered by Columbus ; so that the variation
of the variation is a discovery four centuries old. That the needle, if free
to move in any direction, would not “ hang level,” but that one end
would decline or dip below the horizon, is also an old discovery, having
been discovered by Georg Hartmann in 1-544; and, lasth’, that the force
that acts upon the needle to make it point north and south is not the
same in all places has been long known.

The tme cause of the behavior of a compass needle has been a field for
speculation and study ever since its peculiar behavior was observed, and
a few students had up to the time of Gauss proposed and laboriously
worked out ingenious theories to explain the phenomena observed. The
publication of Gauss’ great work in 1838, however, marked a great ad-
vance and gave a new and powerful impulse to the subject. The Mag-
netic Union, fonned in the third decade of the present century, chiefly
owing to the researches of Gauss, cau.sed the establishment in various
j»arts of the world of magnetic observatories, founded and maintained by
various governments. Of those so founded in the forties, several have
maintained a series of almost uninterrupted observations to this day.
This period of 60 yeare has seen j>rogress in our knowledge of terrestrial
magnetism, but without any epoch-marking event. A vast number of
observations have been accumulated, the 24 constants in Gauss’ funda-
mental formula have been more accuratel}' determined, and a numl>er of
minor phenomena observed and explained, but the subject is far from
being exhausted. The modern ai>plications of electricity to practical affairs
is not without its effect uj)on the subject of terrestrial magnetism.

Is not the journal before us, then, to mark a new epoch in our knowl-
edge of this subject? It seetns strange that, when almost every other
branch of science has long had its special journal or organ, we should have
waited almost for the dawn of the twentieth century for the first number
of the first journal devoted to a matter of such great practical moment and
for four centuries known by all civilized men to be important.

We welcome this journal, then, as a needed one, rightly conceived and
giving promise of usefulness. It enters, and enters under favorable au-
spices, a field not hitherto occupied by any scientific journal. The names
of the editors, the laboratory, and university from which it comes all
combine to promise excellent results. It will be strange indeed if dis-
tinct gains in human knowledge do not result from this enterprise.

The editor. Dr Bauer, though a young man, is a most enthusiastic
student in his chosen field. After several years of service in the United
States Coast and Geodetic Survey, devoted chiefly to magnetic computa-
tion, he went to Europe and devoted his energies to magnetic studies.
Ilis doctor’s degree was obtained last year, as the outcome of these studies.
To him more than to any other belongs the credit of founding the first
journal given wholly to the subject of terrestrial magnetism, and patriotic
Americans will perhaps derive some satisfaction from the fact that the
journal was founded in the United States.

To the editor and his associates and to the University of Chicago we
tender our congratulations and hope for them a large measure of success.

GEOGRAPHIC LITERATURE

YUCATAN IN 1895

The following is taken from a valuable report recently received
at the Department of State from Mr R. L. Oliver, United States
consul at Merida;

The government census is »approaching completion, and from data
already received it is apparent that the total population of the state ap-
proximates 500,000, of whom 60,000 are in Merida.

Yucatan has always been considered among the most advanced states
■of IMexico in point of education. Schools have attained a high order since
the advent of independence. While under the control and supervision
of the local governments, the system of matriculation and education is
mapped out by the federal and state authorities through their respective
boards of education. The law is compulsorj', and though it is not strictly
•enforced in Yucatan, reports show a good attendance.

Sectarian schools are in decadence — in fact, they are only primary
schools for the young. The revenue for their support is deilved from
donations by patrons. The non-sectarian or public schools are main-
tained at the expense of the state. The governor appoints directors, who
in turn select professors and teachers. The total expenditure for j^uiblic
instruction for the scholastic year 1894-’95 has been about 8100,000 (gold) ;
this sustained 435 schools.

Manufactures are confined to articles for local wants, such as soap,
matches, candles, shoes, rope, etc.

There are four railways, owned and operated exclusively by natives.
One broad-gauge road has 75 miles in oi^eration ; the others, narrow-gauge
average about 60 miles each, comideted, but are in course of extension’
Tariffs for passengers and freight are about one-half the rates charged
for local business in the United States.

Except wheat, rye, and other small grains, almost any plant will thrive,
but the i)rincipal products are corn, beans, sugar, and hemp. The last
named is a phenomenally hardy plant and flourishes almost equally well
with or without rain ; corn, beans, and sugar require irrigation and yield
barely sufficient for home requirements. If there is a failure, as at present
in corn, the deficiency is su])plied from Mexico or the United States. The
interior being unable to make up the deficiency in corn, the legislative
authorities of A'ucatan petitioned the federal government to reduce the
import duties on foreign corn that this necessary article might be within
the limit of moderate price. The government scaled the tariff 50 i)cr cent,
])cnding the next harvest, and .several cargoes have been imported from
the United States.

The people are very industrious. Necessity would impel them to be so
were they otherwise, for although Yucatan is notan over-poi>ulated coun-
try the industries are so concentrated, s(j lacking in diversity, and so nio-
nopolizeil that the less fortunate are continually at a disadvantage and
must necessarily be on tin? alert to share in the inadeipiate distribution.
This applies also t<j the i>rofessions.

Laborers in the cities average eight hours’ work, are paid by the piece

GEOGRAPHIC LITERA PURE

in industrial pursuits, and earn about 50 cents (gold) per day. Eaihvay
and skilled laborers earn from 75 cents to $1 per day. They wear the
same clothing, chiefly cotton and linen, during the entire year ; sandals
of the ancient Egyptian pattern.are worn instead of shoes. Trade unions
do not exist and cooperative action is infrecjnent, except in cases of for-
eign intervention, concerning which they are extremely sensitive.

On the plantations, where it is necessary to be exposed to excessive
tropical heat under the direct ravs of the sun, no laborers have withstood
it as have the native Indians. In past times unsuccessful colonies were
formed by Europeans; later, Chinese were contracted for to work on the
hemj) plantations. They were not altogether satisfactory, as they are
physically unable to complete the daily task allotted to the native labor-
ers— that is, to cut a certain number of leaves of hemp (sisal) for a stipu-
lated price. The daily task is two or three thousand leaves, at the rate
of 16 cents (gold) per thousand. On this largely depends the pecuniary
success of the planter ; not that his margin of profit is so limited in what
it actually costs to produce this fiber, but there is the enormous outlay
for the preparation of the lands and for the planting ; the necessary delay
of four or five years before the plant is large enough to cut; the insta-
bility of the market, which is ever fluctuating ; the onerous export duties,
state and fetleral ; the large personnel of the plantations— mechanics,
overseei's, and servants— who, independent of their wages, are advanced
provisions and clothing and furnished medicine and medical attendance
Ijy the proprietor. There is now a great scarcity of laborei's, and with the
new applications of the sisal fiber and its conseciuent increasing demand
it is becoming a serious question how to meet prospective emergencies.

A project is on foot to subdue and domesticate the 5Iaya Indians, va-
riously estimateil at from 10,000 to 20,000 in number, who have from time
immemorial held invincible sway over the southeastern part of Yucatan.
It is hoi>ed to augment from them the number of farm hands ; but even
in the event of accomplishing the subjugation of this semibarbarous race,
it is exceedingly doubtful if the ]we.sent generation can be utilized, so re-
fractory are they to civilized pursuits and so indolent and thriftless. Their
trading-posts are on the boumlary lines of British Honduras. At times
their chiefs visit Belize to purchase cloth, replenish their ammunition,
and renew their contracts with the timber merchants, who pay them so
much per ton for the privilege of cutting wood in their territory. They
are friendly with the British and never interfere with negro cutters sent
from Belize, but a 5Iexican or a native of Yucatan dares not encroach
upon their lands. As this part of Yucatan is more healthful and its soil
better adapted to the cultivation of fruits, sugar cane, and grains, it is not
improbable that after the pacification of the 5Iayas the government will
offer inducements to foreigners seeking homes in the tropics. The geo-
graphical and the topographical situation of this part of the peninsula
w<4uld indicate that it is essentially a horticultural district. Down by the
Caribbean sea it is easily accessible to shipping, and its products would
find a market. It lies in the path of vessels that now ply between the
southern ports of the United States and ports of British and Spanish Hon-
duras. This would also be the route for vessels to and from Nicaragua in

GEOGRAPHIC LITERATURE

the event of the building of the canal. Another advantage of transcendant
impoi’tance is that of Ascension bay, which is one of the largest and deep-
est harbors in all INIexico, and with the exception of Acapulco, on the
Pacific, affords a safer anchorage than any other. This is a desideratum
of no little magnitude when it is known that most of the Mexican gulf
ports are open roadsteads and that in the winter months, when northers
are frequent, shipping is hazardous and uncertain.

Up to 1891-92 the credit of A'ucatan in Europe was unlimited and her
merchants enjoyed an enviable reputation for integrity, but they were
overtaken by the financial crisis, which found them overstocked and
deeply indebted. Collateral securities shrank, debts contracted in gold
had to be met with its equivalent in silver, which had coincidently de-
preciated in its paying value 50 per cent; money became stringent and
finally the collapse came. Many large dealers in diu^ goods and miscel-
laneous articles were forced to suspend. They represent to European
creditors millions which are hopelessly lost. This unfortunate state of
affairs is largely due to the long credit system. However, this salutary
lesson has had the effect of restricting them to more business-like meth-
ods. Tlie tide of trade will eventually turn to the United States, this
market affording quicker transportation facilities.

The chief aidicles of imijort embrace groceries, canned goods, etc. ; dry
goods, notions, cashmeres, men’s furnishings, millinery, and hardware of
idl descrqitions, except plows, hoes, etc., which are not used.

Hennequen (sisal) is the chief export. The annual output is neai’ly
400,000 bales of 400 pounds each. In the first quarter of the present year
there were shipped 81,030 bales, valued at 8582,932.50, United States cur-
rency, on which state and federal duties amounting to $132,48] ($71,612
United States currency) were paid; over 12 per cent ad valorem. Of the
81,030 bales shipped, 66,269 were destined for the United States. With
the exception of a small fraction, they were transported in other than
American vessels. The August, 1895, imports amounted to 6,568 tons ;
2,1.33 tons were imported in American vessels ; 4,435 tons in English,
Norwegian, and German vessels. The exports amounted to 6,600 tons,
of which 560 tons were exported in American vessels and 6,040 tons in
English, Norwegian, and German vessels.

From .Tanuary to .lune, 1895, there were shijiped to interior jtoints of
IMexico 3,070 tons of coarse, unrefined salt. The bigh tariff on foreign
salt makes it an expensive arti(;le. The home mines are difficult to work,
and as in most cases they are only surface deposits of the .sea the yield
<lepends greatly upon the weather.

'fhe exports of logwood for the first three months of 1895 show 2,6:J4
ton.«, valued at $80,000 in United States currency, clean'd for Euroj)ean
countries. Other articles of export in small (inantilies are hides, ham-
mocks, sarsaparilla, etc. The total <h;clared exixndsto the rnited .States
for tin; fiscal yearending .Jnn(*.'!0, 18‘)5, were: From I’rogreso, $2,062, ftOfI ;
from 5Ierida, $897,702 ; total, $2,i»60,lil 1 in United Statt's currency.

Value of imports during the fiscal year 18!)4-’95, $l,0!»2,fl81 ; valueof e.\-
])orts, $8,37(i,()80. Total amount of federal duties ]>aid thereon, $1,1 55, 9.32.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
SOCIETY, SESSION i895-’96

Regular Meeting, December 27 , 1895. — President Hubbard in the chair.
Amendments to the l)y-la\vs were adopted as follows :

Articlk I^’’ — Officers. — The business of the Society shall be transacted
by a Board of ^Managers composed of eighteen members, six of whom shall
be elected by the Society at each annual meeting. They shall serve for
three years, or until their successors are elected. A majority vote shall l>e
re((uisite fur election. Vacancies arising in the Board shall be filled by
the Board.

The Board of IManagers shall elect annually from their number a Presi-
dent, six Vice-Presidents, a Treasurer, a Recording Secretary, and a Cor-
responding Secretary.

The following resolution also was adopted :

Whereas the Society has adopted certain amendments to its by-laws,
bv which it is proviiled that the members of the Board of ^lanagers be
elected hereafter for terms of three years, and one-third of its members
retire each year: therefore,

Resolved, That the Pxjard of ^Managers is hereby instructed to group its-
members iu three classes, the first of which shall retire in May, 1896, the
second in INIay, 1897, and the third in May, 1898.

Vice-President Ogden delivered an address on Coast Hydrography and
its Uses, and ^Ir G. W. Littlehales read a paper entitled, “ Why the Sea.
is Salt.”

Special Meeting, Januarg 3, 1896. — President Hubbard in the chair. Dr
D. C. Gilman, President of Johns Hopkins Univ'ersity, gave an address
on The Geographic Development of Universities.

Regular Meeting, January 10, 1896. — President Hubbard in the chair.
Mr William Eleroy Curtis read a i>aper, with lantern-slide illustrations,
on Venezuela : her Government, People, and Boundary.

Special Meeting, January 17, 1896. — President Hubbard in the chair.
Mr Robert E. Peary, Civil Engineer, U. S. Navy, delivered an address,
with lantern-slide illustrations, entitled, ‘‘Explorations in the Far North,”'
relating more particularly to his recent expedition to northern Greenland.

Regular Meeting, January 24, 1896. — Joint ^Meeting with the American
Forestry Association. Hon. J. Sterling iMorton, Secretary of Agriculture,
in the chair. Addresses on the sul)ject of the Public Forests, Lauds, and
Waters of the United States were delivered by Hon. Fred. T. Dubois»
U. S. S., Hon. John F. Lacey, M. C., Hon. Thomas C. McRae, M. C., and
^Ir William E. Smythe, of Chicago.

Elkction'S. — New members have been elected as follows :

December 27. — Hon. Win. ^1. Aiken, Chief Engineer G. AV. Baird
U. S. N., Col. J. W. Barlow, U. S. A., Ensign L. C. Bertolette, U. S. N.

GEOGRAPHIC NOTES

Capt. Nathan Bickford, Lieut. E. B. Chambers, E. R. E. Cowell, Pickering
Dodge, D. J. Evans, Capt. M. C. Goodsell, U. S. M. C. , H. R. P. Hamil-
ton, Hon. John B. Harlow, Robert S. Hatcher, IMrs Mary B. Jackson,
R. M. Johnson, Capt. Louis Kempff, U. S. N., Miss Grace D. Litchfield,
Miss Cordelia L. Mayo, .A,. E. H. Middleton, Hon. Joseph S. Miller, Rev.
Dr W. H. Milburn, Maj. Hannibal D. Norton, Maj. G. C. Reid, U. 8.
1\I. C., Capt. George C. Remey, U. S. N., George R. Simpson, Hon. 0. P.
Tucker, Maj. W. M. Waterbury, U. S. A.

January 10. — Seilor Jose Andrade (Venezuelan Minister), Mrs D. C.
Chapman, W. V. Cox, John F. Davies, John F. Downing, J. B. Fell-
heimer, Aliss Ellen B. Foster, Capt. S. W. Fountain, U. S. A., Maj. E. A.
Garlington, U. S. A., Prof. Edward L. Greene, Lieut. C. H. Harlow,
U. S. N., Comdr. J. N. Hemphill, U. S. N., Franklin H. Hough, Dr J.
C. Hvoslef, Medical Director Samuel Jackson, U. S. N., Dr P. E. Joslin,
Lieut. J. F. Reynolds Landis, U. S. A., W. H. Pennell, Miss Alice C.
Pugh, Mrs Nellie Grant Sartoris, Henry A. Seymour, Dr R. M. Thorn-
burgh, Mrs John N. Webb, Alfred Jerome Weston, Hon. Carroll D.
Wright.

January 24. — Miss Harriet Baidlett, Dr Frank K. Cameron, Richd. T-
Fu.ssell, C. A. Gilman, Dudley W. Gregory, Dr G. T. Howland, Mrs Ida
Rome Knapp, Mr E. de Kotzebue (Russian Minister), George A. Lewis.
James AlcCormick, Airs J. C. AIcKelden, Hon. Richard Olney, Wilson N.
Paxton, Judge AI. E. Poole, Gov. A. R. Shepherd, I. C. Slater, James H.
Thomas, James A. AVatson, John E. AVright.

Obituary. — The Society has to deplore the deaths of the following mem-
bers during the month of January : Air E. B. AVight, a well known and
much respected journalist, representing the Boston Journal and the Chi-
cago Intcr-Ocean at the National Capital, and Air S. C. Gilman, a promis-
ing young civil engineer and explorer, residing at St. Cloud, Minnesota,
who, only a few days before his untimely death, contributed a valuable
paper on his explorations in the Olympian mountains, AVashington, to
appear in an early number of this magazine.

GEOGRAPHIC NOTES

NORTH AMERICA

Fran’z .Iosku L\xd. The published statements of Air A. Alontefiore,
the spokesman ofthe Jackson-IIarmsworth expedition, now enable one to
definitely outline tlie outcome of the exi)e<lition down to July last. Jackson
left Khabarowa in the ]Vinilward .August Ifi, 1804, and met the ice-pack
in 70° 41F 49° E. Bell island was sighti'd, :i0 miles distant, .August 2o,

but nnfavoraljle ice conditions prevented lamling then' or at capc^ Grant,
which was in siglitsix days later, <listant40 miles. A landing was madt*,
September 0, at Dell island, and the ship was frozen in while discharging
cargo, September l.'k .Jackson, with his chosen explorers, passed the

GEOGRAPHIC NOTES

winter vers' comfortabl}' in a wooden house erected at cape Flora. Tlie
ship’s crew wintered on the vessel and lost one man, the health of others
being unfavorably ’affected. About sixty polar bears were killed, four
being females. An autumnal depot was laid down at cape Barents and a
spring one, in March, 1895, by a trip of six days, at Peter head, entrance
of iNIarkham sound.

The long journey, in which four ponies were used with great advantage,
occupied from Aj)ril 16 to May 13. Softening sea-floes and signs of open
water constrained a return from the farthest north, 81° 20' X., 54° 53' *E.
Payer’s map of 1874 is said to be inaccurate and misleading. Zichy,
Alexandra, and Oscar lands resolve themselves into groujis of islands,
and Richthofen peak, of Payer, could not be located.

Mr Montefiore, it is said, declares that Jackson’s success in his first
year is unprecedented. If such reiiort be correct, this will not be the
first cai)able exjdorer who may ask protection from injudicious friends
who seek to aid him by unfounded aspersions of others. European ex-
jilorersare able to refute on tlieir own account 5Iontefiore’s claim, e.spe-
cially Payer, who, starting from a more southerly point, surpassed Jack-
son’s latitude by 37 miles.

For America, it is indisputable that Hall, in 1870-’71, far exceeded Jack-
son’s latitude and opened up a new route and region, surpassing in im-
l)ortance ’and extent anything that Jackson has done ; this with the
loss of one man — himself. Greely in his first year, 1881-’82, explored
4,0iX) square miles of new land and surpas.sed the highest latitude, made
before or since, without the loss of a man. Peary, in 189l-’92, made the
most remarkable inland ice journey on record, crossed Greenland to a
j)oint far beyond his predecessors on the east Greenland coast, with the
loss of a single man, V)y accident. Against this is Jackson’s northing of
some 80 miles, with a loss of three men, one at cape Flora and two on
the return voyage of the Windward.

Auvsk.k. Congress is to appropriate 875,000 to mark the Alaskan
boundary along the 141st meridian of west longitude, on which meridian
have been determined three important points— Mount St. Elias, Forty-
mile creek, and Porcupine river. By independent surveys, bj'^ United
States and Canadian engineers, the points established differ onh' six feet
at ]\Iount St. Elias and 400 feet at Porcupine river. Canada desires to
e.stablish the meridian astronomically by joint scientific survey, which
would require several years. The United States fiivors, as a less difficult
and more speedy plan, a survey based on the points already established.

Mexico. According to the last message of President Diaz, 566 miles of
new telegraph lines have been built, the most important uniting Taco-
talpa, Chiapas, with Penosique, Tobasco, opening a new route with
Guatemala, and making a total mileage of 56,442 miles. Among impor-
tant railway extensions is tliat from Monclova to the Pacific, of which
292 miles have been approved. The surveys of the road from Merida to
Campeche are progre.ssing and the plans of the lines from ^leiida to
Progre.so have been adojited. The drainage works of the vallej' of Mex-
ico are almost concluded, the excavations have amounted to 53,160,000

GEOGRAPHIC NOTES

cubic feet, and tlie tunnel is finished for a length of 32,140 feet. The
grand drainage canal is nearly 30 miles long.

Surveys have been completed for a cable road to connect the Interoceanic
Railway with the summit of Popocatepetl, ascending from the ranch
Semacas, on the northwest side. The railway is mainly for the transpor-
tation of sulphur from the volcano, but it will be available for tourists.
AVork has been commenced on a line from Baroteran, on the Mexican In-
ternational Railroad, to Laredo, Texas, and thence to Mier, Mexico, on the
bed of the Gould railroad, graded about ten years ago between these points.
The government has modified its tax on minerals, which now amounts to
5 per cent of the value of silver and gold. It is divided into a federal
stamp tax of 3 per cent and a coinage tax of 2 per cent. Mexican smelters
operating under governmental concessions are not liable for the coinage
tax on silver extracted from low-grade lead and copper ores.

CENTRAL AMERICA

XrcAR.vGUA. A telegraph line has been built between Acoyapa and
Rama. The work on the railway between Rama and San Ubaldo, 178
miles, began July 28, 1895, and should be completed in two years.

Tiie Nicaraguan government has extended its monopoly of irative dis-
tilled spirits to its Atlantic coast districts, except to the free port of San
Juan, and imposes corresponding duties on foreign spirits.

SOUTH AMERICA

The Emperor of Brazil once gave a concession to an Englishman to
ojien the channel connecting the Orinoco with the Amazon, and the latter
was to have the exclusive right to navigate the waters for a term of
twenty-five years as a reward for his enterprise, but for some reason or
another the contract was not carried out.

The bronze statue of George Washington erected by Guzman Blanco at
Caracas is believed to be the only statue of the Father of his Country
outside the United States. The inscription upon it states that Washing-
ton “ Filled one world with his lienefits and all worlds with his name,” a
unique tribute to his greatness that was probably written by Blanco
himself.

DumsG the visit of Bolivar to the United States he spent a day at Alount
A'ernon, where, placing his hands reverently upon the cotfin of AVasli-
ington, he made a solemn vow to devote his life tn the liberation of his
country. Reaching his native land, he became active in the revolutionary
propaganda and soon had to seek refuge in Europe. Fifteen years later,
however, after a struggle to which that of our revolutionary fathers offered
no comparison, he sat in the capital of Bogota, the fimnder of five rejmb-
lics — A'enezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Ihdivia — the last having
been named in his honor. At that time tlie states were con.soli<lated
under a single government, witli Bolivar as president. After having for
the fourth time l)een electetl president he was driven fnjin the country
and died in exile.

GEOGRAPHIC NOTES

On the upper Orinoco, during the struggle of Venezuela for independ-
ence, occurred the only naval battle that was ever fought on horseback.
Bolivar, at the liead of his army, had been trying to cross for several
weeks, but was prevented b}' several Spanish gunijoats that moved up and
down the stream as he did. Becoming exasperated. General Paez one
niglit spurred his horse into the stream, followed by three thousand
llaueros, or cowboys, whose horses had been taught to swim as well as to
gallop. Tlie Sj)anish fleet was taken entirely unawares. The llaneros
clambered from their saddles to the decks of the vessels and let their
houses swim back to shore alone. Thus, after cutting off their own re-
treat, it was a question of win or die, and so desperately did they fight
that every vessel was captured.

The Ceiba railroad, in Venezuela, originally 80 miles long, has been ex-
tended from i\[endoza eastward a distance of 82 miles, to connect with
the branch from Valera, 15 miles long. Another line is under construc-
tion from Encoutrados to La Fria, 62 miles. It is intended to extend
the road 25 miles farther to San Cristobal, the commercial center of a
great agricultural section. Contracts have been made also for railroad
lines from iNIaracaibo to Perijaaud from Lake Maracaibo to Carora. The
former is to be bnilt within two years and the latter within five.

ASIA

SvKr.v. The first railway was oi:>ened August 8, 1895, under French
management. It extends from Beirut to Damascus, a distance of 91 miles.

China. M. Berthelot, French Foreign Minister, says that the Franco-
Chinese treaty opens to French trade a region containing 100,000,000
inhabitants. Its capital is Chung-king.

Persia. Concessions have been granted to Herr Moral to construct a
carriage road from Teheran to Bagdad, and a steam or electric railway
from Teheran to villages 10 miles north. A Russian company has been
granted a concession to construct a harbor at Enzeli.

Japan. The sum of §18,000,000 has been voted for a double-track rail-
way to be built between Tokyo and Kobe, 876 miles, passing through
Yokohama, Kyoto, and Osaka. Previously 29 concessions had been
grauteil, covering 2, 193 miles, of which 1,549 miles have been opened.
Of state railways, 580 miles have been completed and 398 miles are in
course of construction.

India. The efforts of Mr A. F. iMummery and three others, in August,
1895, to explore the Naiiga Parbat region of the Himalaya mountains
ended in the death of the leader and two Gurkha soldiers. Mummery
was turned back, by the illness of a Gurkha, at the height of 20,000 feet
on the main peak of Nanga Parbat. Later, Mummery and the two
soldiers were lost while exploring a side glacier, being presumably buried
under an avalanche.

The ^Mekong. The French are raj^idly developing the region lately
ceded by Siam. A telegraph line is to be constructed from Attopeu, the
center of the Nam-Kong gold district, and post-ofiices are also being es-

GEOGRAPHIC NOTES

tablished. Steamers will soon be plying on the Mekong. That river has
been found navigable for 1,500 miles. Lient. Simon, in the French gun-
boat, La Grandi^re, steamed 900 miles, from Stnng-Treng to Lnang-
Prabang, and reports that at high water the rapids are navigable to
Kiang-kong, 220 miles higher up the stream.

SiBERi,\. Last summer the veteran Arctic skipper. Captain Wiggins,
took 400 tons of English merchandise up the Yenisei to within 180 miles
of Yeniseisk. The Russian government admitted the goods free, so as to
encourage navigation to Siberia by way of the Arctic ocean.

The completion of the Trans-Siberian railway seems to be assured by
the negotiation in Berlin of three Russian railway loans, aggregating
$5.5,000,000. Whether Russia has secured from China authority to cross
iManchuria to an ice-free port is yet a mooted question.

AFRICA

Asuanti. a telegraph line is being constructed from the coast to the
interior, along the principal trade route.

Egypt. A geological survey, to be completed within three years at a
cost of £25,000, has been sanctioned by the Khedive. It will be carried
out under the direction of Capt. Lyons, R. E.

Abyssinia. The Italian army is con.structing a good military road
between Adowa, Adigrat, and Makaleh. An administration is being estab-
lished, with a view to jiromoting colonization.

Kongo Free State. According to the statements of the Rev. John B.
5Iurphy, an American Baptist missionary, who speaks from an experience
of several years, the authorities of the Free State are committing shock-
ing barbarities in connection with the exploitation of the rubber trade.
Tlie natives, as fer as practicable, are abandoning the Belgian for French
territory, where they are well treated.

South Africa. Tlie delimitation of the railway stri^i on tlie eastern
frontier of Bechuanaland is in progress, the survey being made by Colonel
Goold-Adams. Tliis delimitation is made under an agreement with the
native chiefs regarding the extension of tlie railway to IMatabeleland.
Tlie railway company surrenders a subsidy of $1,000,000 for land grants,
enhanced police powers, etc., which insures its future control of the trade
routes to this region. The Natul-Transvaal railway is now in operation
as far as between Durban and Heidelberg, and the section from the latter
jioint to Johannesburg is in process of construction. The heavy spring
rains have postponed the opening of the through railway .service from
Natal to the Rand. The Transvaal is now served liy three lines, the
otliers l)(*ing the Cape and Free State and the Delagoa bay. Telegraph
communication between Cape Town and the East Coast is now continu-
ous, through tlie opening of the line lietween Unitali and Beira. The
necessity of concmtiiig measures to prevent the utter extinction of the
.\frican eleiihant is again being urged. It is said that tin* Cermaiis are
taking stejis to protect the few herds remaining in Cernian ti-rritory, and
it is to be lioiicd that the British colonial authorities will lose no time in
following their exanqile.

THE VALLEY OF THE ORINOCO
By T. H. Gignilliat
Uniled States War Department

In the map of the valleys of the Orinoco and Esequibo rivers, showing
Venezuela and British Guiana (Plate V), the territorj' between the shaded
area and the Corentyn river shows the extent of British Guiana as
given in a map published by William Fadon, Geographer to His Majesty,
January 1, 1820. This country, acquired by the English through con-
quest and formally ceded to them by the Butch in 1814, then contained
sqrne 20,000 square miles.

The lighter portion of the shaded territory shows the first extension of
British Guiana to the west after Fadon’s map of 1820. This expansion
appears on a map published in London in 1840 by Robert H. Schomburgk,
which included the light-shaded area above mentioned, about 40,000
square miles. Schomburgk held an English commission to draw the
boundary line, but it does not appear that Venezuela was represented in
t he survey. The darker j)ortion of the shaded territoiy shown on Plate V
represents the subsequent extension of British Guiana, as shown by a
series of many recent publications. Since 1840, maps and other publica-
tions have appeared, drawing line after line farther to the west, until
some 49,000 sfpiare miles have been added to Schomburgk’s acquisition.
In this way the area of British Guiana has increased from about 20,000
square miles, as shown on the Fadon map of 1820, to 109,000 square miles,
the area given in the Statesman’s Year-Book of 1895.

Gold was discovered in a new section of this area, to the northwest, in
1884, and an official Venezuelan report places the gold output of this sec-
tion in 18!)0 at $1,000,000. But there is a larger interest at stake than all
this territory, with all its gold. It is the control of the valley of the
Orinoco, an area of about fl00,000 square miles, which comprises a very
large i)ortion of South America north of the Amazon river.

It is not generally known that the best entrance to the Orinoco river
is within the original Schomburgk line. Dr !Munoz Tebar, the successor
of Senor Jos6 Andrade as president of the state of Zulia, Venezuela,
states, after a personal examination, that the best entrance to the Orinoco
river is through the Guaima river and Mora passage to the Barium river,
and thence to the Orinoco. Authorities aj^pear to agree that the other
mouths of the Orinoco are shallow and obstructed by sand bars. Dr
Tebar gives the depth of the Mora passage as over 60 feet, and would lead
us to infer that there was no bar at the entrance of the Guaima. If this
means that there is a clear channel over 60 feet from the sea through the
iMora passage to the Orinoco river, it is a most important piece of infor-
mation. The square black marks in this locality show the position of
English trading stations, established between 1885 and 1887.

Iti addition to the authorities above quoted, the “ commercial ” map of
F. Bianconi, Paris, 1888, was used in compiling the map on Plate V.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE

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Physiographic Regions of the United States - - - j

Beaches and Tidal M.arshes of the Atlantic Coast Prof. N. S. Shaler
Present and Extinct Lakes of Nevad.a . - - - Prof. I. C. Russell

Appalachi.an Mountains— Northern Section - - - Bailey Willis

Appal.achi.an Mount.ains— Southern Section - - - C. Wellard Hayes
Mt. Shasta— a Typical Extinct Volcano - - - - J. S. Diller

The New England Pl.ateau Prof. W. M. Davis

NI-AGara Falls and Its History - - - - - - G. K. Gilbert

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Adiniral R. W. Meade, U. S. Nv

Dr. T. C. Mendenhall, President of the Poly-
technic Institute, Worcester, lilass.

Dr. C. Hart Merriam, Ornithologist aiid Mam-
malogist, U. S. Department of Agriculture

Hon. John H. Mitchell, U. S. S.

Prof. W. L. Moore, Chief of Weather Bureau.

1^^^* Frederick H. Newell, Chief Hydrotrranher
of the U. S. Geological Survey.

Mr. Herbert G. Ogden, U. S. Coast Survey

Eieut. Robert E- Peary, U. ,S. N.

Mrs. Robert E. Peary'.

Hon. Geo. C. Perkins, U. S. S.

Mr. William H. Pickering, Professor of Astron-
omy in Haryard Uniyersity.

Major John W. Powell, Director of the Bureau
of American Ethnology and President of the
Anthropological Society of Washington.

Prof. W. B. Powell, Superintendent of Schools
District of Columbia. ’

Hon. John R. Procter, President of the U. ,S.

Ciyil Seryice Commission.

Mr. Israel C. Russell, Profe.ssor of Geology in
the Univensity of Michigan.

Dr. N. S. Shaler, Profes.sor of Geology in Har-
vard University.

Commander Charles D. Sigsbee, Hvdrographer
to the Bureau of Navigation, Navy Dept.
Mi.ss Eliza Ruhainah Scidmore.

Commander Z. L- Tanner, U. ,S. N.

Mr. Prank ’Vincent, New York.

Hon. Charles D. Walcott, Director of the U.S.

Geological Survey.

Mrs. Fannie B. Ward.

Mr. Bailey Willis, U. S. Geological Survey.

Among the contents of fortlicoming numbers will be articles, for
the most part illustrated, on the Geography, People, and Resources
of Costa Rica, by General Richard Villafranca, Commissioner-General
to the Atlanta l^xposition ; on Some Recent Ifxplorations in the Foot-

iiills of the Andesof Jeeuador, by Mr. Mark B. Kerr; on 1 lydrograibhy
dithe United State.s, by Mr. Frederick II. Newell; on P'ree Burghs
n the United States, by Air. James II. Blodgett; on the 'Topographic
Work of the United States (;eological Survey, by Mr. I lenry Gannett,
inJ on the lapestry- Producing Nations, by Mr. C. M. Foulke.

25 CJilNTS.

THE MARCH NUMBER

WILL CONTAIN A

CHART, 49x30 Inches,

SHOWING THE

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AND ALSO THE

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AND THE COALING, DOCKING and

REPAIRING STATIONS.

This valuable' Chart, which is now published for the first time,
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partment. It is not intended for public distribution, and its use
in connection with The National Geographic Magazine will
considerably increase the ct)st of the March number.

The Edition will therefore be Strictly Limited
and Orders should be sent in at once.

JUDD & DETWEILER, PRINTERS, WASHINGTON, D. C.

MARCH, 1896

No.

The

-f ^

Honorary Editor: JOHN HYDE

A. W. QREELY

Honorary Associate Editors ' j

W JiJHcOEE -ELIZ^RUHAMAH SCIDilORE

CONTENTS

WILLI/aM H. QAtiL
GEN. A. W. GREELY

THE SO-CALLED "JEANNETTE RELICS.”

NANSEN’S POLAR EXPEDITION.

With portrait of Dr. Nansen.

THE SUBMARINE CABLES OP THE WORLD.

^ With chart

PETER COOPER AND SUBMARINE TELEGRAPHY.

THE RUSSO-AMERICAN TELEGRAPH PROJECT OF 1864-’67.

WILLIAM H. DALL

THE SURVEY AND SUBDIVISION OF INDIAN TERRITORY.

With map and illustration HENRY GANNETT

"FREE BURGHS” IN THE UNITED STATES. JAMES H BLODGETT
Proceedings of The NaUonal Geographic Society, p. 122 ; Miscellanea, p. 124.

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THE

National Geographic Magazine

VoL. VII MARCH, 1896 No. 3

THE SO-CALLED “JEANNETTE RELICS”

By Profe.ssor William H. Dall

Aluch interest lias been excited by the recent rumor that news
had Ijeen received from Nansen, via Siberia. In discussing the
rumor I mentioned that the supposed relics of the Jeannette found
off Julianehaab, in Greenland, were in all probability in no way
connected with the Jeannette expedition, but were due to a boy-
ish prank of some of the members of the Greely relief expedition
of 1884. In attempting to formulate his impressions of an inter-
view with me during which the subject was discussed, and wbicli
were not revised li}'’ me, the reporter unfortunately fell into some
inaccuracies, not unnatural inajierson unfamiliar with the tech-
nicalities of arctic exploration, but for which the telegrams to
the press made me responsible. It seems desirable, therefore,
to lay before tbose interested in such matters a statement of the
facts bearing on the two questions involved, namely. Were the
relics really derived from the Jeannette expedition? and, if not,
were they the result ofa mystification, as above suggested ? 'fhe
first is of course the only one of importance to geographers, for
if the relics were spurious it matters but little whence tbey were
derived, 'fhe facts are now in order.

1. The Jeannette Hnwk .lune 11, 1881, in the .Arctic sea, about
180 miles northwest from the New Siberian islands.

2. 'fhe Greely relief exi)edition of 1881 reached the coast of
Greenland in May; the Hear met the pack ice near Godliavn
about .May 13; the Thetis i\\n\ Loch (iarri/, May 22; the . l/c?'G)n

THE SO-CALLED “JEANNETTE RELICS

June 5. The latter left Godhavn June 9 and reached Upernivik
June 13.

3. On June 18 some Eskimo found on the surface of an ice
floe off Julianehaab, in southwest Greenland, some articles, which
were turned over to the Danish officer in charge of that settle-
ment, Herr Lytzen, who sent them to a friend in Copenhagen.
Tliese comprised, among other things, some broken biscuit boxes,
a pair of oilskin trousers, said to have been marked Louis Noros
(tlie name of one of the Jeannette survivors, who was a member
of tlie Greely relief expedition of 1884), and a number of written
jiapers, especially a list of tlie boats of the Jeannette^ and a list of
provisions signed by De Long, the commander of the Jeannette
expedition, and stated to be entirely in his or a single hand-
writing.

4. The Greely relief expedition left Greenland from Godhavn
July 9, without toucliing at Julianehaab.

5. In the latter part of the winter of 1884-’85 a Danish corre-
spondent wrote to Dr Emil Bessels, formerly of the Polaris ex-
pedition and a well-known arctic expert, at Washington, stating
that news of these various relics had been received in Copenhagen
and requesting his opinion as to their authenticity. The sub-
stance of this letter was communicated to me by Dr Bessels, who
was much interested in the find, as, if genuine, it obviously fur-
nished important data toward a knowledge of the drift in the
polar regions. The presence in Washington during 1885 of man}^
members of the relief expedition, in connection with the various
investigations Avhich followed their return, enabled Dr Bessels to
interview many of the seamen as well as their officers and to ac-
cumulate a large mass of notes from his examination of them.
On one or two occasions I was invited to be present when some
of these men called on Dr Bessels. The well-known tendency of
articles on the surface of ice, under the influence of the sun, to
sink through it to the level of the water — even such trifles as bird’s
feathers or dead leaves being rai)idly engulfed, as I have often
personally noticed — led to doubts as to the possibility of the ar-
ticles mentioned having remained on the surface of the ice for
three years during a drift of 3,000 miles, exposed to the elements.
The possibility of the preservation of written papers under such
conditions seemed almost incredible. The close approximation
of the dates of the presence of the relief exjiedition on the west
Greenland coast and that of the finding of the relics was also
suspicious. The testimony of the seamen interviewed was, in

THE SO-CALLED '‘JEANNETTE RELICS'^

brief, to the effect tliat tlie presence of Jeannette survivors on the
relief expedition liad sut^gested to some one the possiljility of
producing a sensation in the fleet which for some time followed
the foremost vessels; that in a spirit of boyish levity this hoax
W'as conceived and carried out, with no intention of serious de-
ception or thought of the possible consequences. No names were
mentioned and the evidence was to the effect that a general im-
I)re.ssion prevailed among the men that some such })rank had
been played rather than that any particular man questioned was
personally cognizant of the act. Dr Bessels gathered an amount
of evidence tending to support this hypothesis, which he showed
me and which covered forty or fifty pages of foolscap. This
record was afterward burned, tvith his library and other papers,
in a fire which destroyed his residence at Glendale, D. C. In
consequence Dr Bessels communicated to his Euro]iean corre-
spondents his belief that the relics were fictitious and the result
of a hoax. I stated to Dr Rink and others who inquired of me
the same conclusions.

6. In 1888 Dr Nansen made his celebrated journey across
Greenland and presumaldy heard of the relics there. Before his
return, Dr Bessels died in Germany, where he had taken up his
residence. Up to this time either the doul)ts which had been
thrown on the authenticity of the relics, or some other reason,
had lu’evented them from exciting much interest, and the owner
seems to have resisted any attempt to verify their authenticity
by sending photogra|)hs or originals of the i)apers to America
when requested. The ])aj)ers and other objects were placed in
a box in a garret and, after the death of the owner, were burned
as worthless, with the ac({uiescence of the widow. As Herr
Uytzen had published an account of them (Geogr. Tidskr., viii,
188o-’88, j)p. 4h-.51 j and the finder and possessor alike acted in
]»erfect good faith throughout, it is probable that after Dr Bes-
sels’ opinion was communicated to him. the owner attached no
great value to the oljects, otherwise his wife could hardly have
been ignoi-ant of it.

When Dr Nansen endeavored to examine these objects with
a view of determining their authenticity, tlu>y were no longer in
existence.* One of his friends, whost; name has slipped my
memory and whose letter is temporarily inaccessible, wrote to
me on Nansen's behalf, as he explained, asking my ojiinion,

* Sf!C Ui)y. Oeo«. So<!. l’ro<;., Nov. 11, I8ii2, in .lunniul, .Ian., 18!).'l, pp. l-.TJ.

THE SO-CALLED ^‘JEANNETTE RELICS”

Avhich Avas sent some time before the starting of Nansen’s latest
expedition. Baron Nordenskibld was also informed some time
before Nansen sailed, so that there is no doubt that Nansen was
cognizant of the fact that the authenticity of the relics Avas seri-
ously questioned. He had preAuously admitted as much in
his paper above cited, but did not on that account relax his faith
in them.

Conclasiom. — It is evident that the ])roof that the relics Avere
the result of a hoax is not complete, and. in the nature of things,
unless the parties actually concerned shall admit it, is never
likely to be com})leted. Each person Avill form his OAvn opinion
from the data submitted. I have spent some ten years of my
life at sea, nearly half of the time in command of a United States
surveying A^essel, and I am quite aAvare of the nature of sailor
men and sailors’ evidence. Dr Bessels Avas for years my inti-
mate and valued friend and associate, and in all our intercourse
nothing ever occurred to lead me to doulit his earnest endeavor
to get at the truth of this matter. iNIy oavu conclusions are, first,
that the relics Avere not authentic, and, second, that they Avere
probably due to a hoax, as stated above. In' support of the first
conclusion, beside the data given, the probability that De Long
himself would be Avriting out receipts for stores is very small.
There has been since 1818 an average of tAVO or three ships a year
lost in the ice north of Bering strait, and in the vicinity of the
point Avhere the Jeannette entered the pack. Not a single relic
of all the enormous fleet of oA'er one hundred Avrecks has ever
been identified on the Greenland coast, A\diere AA'ood has ahvays
been of the greatest value. Driftwood from northern rivers is
cast up on the Greenland coast more or less every year, hut there
is no evidence that it comes from points east of Nova Zembla.
It is not im})ossible that some of it does, but it cannot be- proA^ed.
Some tAA'enty-odd years ago a throAving-stick, of the pattern used
at Port Clarence, near Bering strait, came ashore on the coast of
Greenland, near Godhaab, and Avas presented to the museum at
Christiania by Dr Rink.* When one remembers hoAV the creAVS
of Avhaleships collect curios Avhich they carry to all parts of the
Avorld, and Avhich are often throAvn aAvay or lost in the most un-
expected places, the certainty that this stick drifted from Port
Clarence, a distance of not less than 4,000 miles, is evidently not
to be taken for granted. I have received from lagoons on the

*Cf. Qeog. Tidskr., ix, No. 4, pp. 75-G, Copenhagen, 1887.

THE SO-CALLED ^^JEANNETTE EELLCS”

west side of tlie peninsula of Lower California, formerly fre-
quented by whalers, marine shells unquestionably of north
European origin, Bnccinum nndatum especialhq which is not
known in the Pacific at all, and I have also received Indo-Pacific
species, as well as cocoanut shells, collected by John Murdoch,
from the shores of the Arctic ocean, north of Bering strait. That
the drift of the Jeannette was due to the i)revalent winds is be-
yond question, as already shown by Melville, and as may be
worked out by anybody from the data. That, if continued, it
would have passed across the Pole, as argued by Nansen, is a
pure assumption, though a veiy enticing one. Certainly no one
interested in arctic work but must most heartily wish that that
courageous explorer may succeed in proving his hypothesis and
return in safety to claim the laurels his success would earn.

In regard to the second point, that of the origin of the so-called
relics, if regarded as fictitious, I have already stated my conclu-
sion that the story of the hoax seems sufficient to account for
tliem. To Ije perfect!}’’ impartial, however, one must admit that
the currents about southwest Greenland are such that objects set
adrift on the ice from any great distance to the northward of
Julianehaab would usually be set over to the westward rather
than in shore, although tliis general rule is subject to exceptions,
due to strong westerly winds. This fact alone I suspect was suf-
ficient to satisfy Nansen, whose hypothesis was already framed ;
ljut it must be remembered that the Greenland current does not
round cape Farewell with equal strength at all seasons of the
year; that the advent of the relief expedition was excei)tionally
early ; the inllux into Baffin’s bay had not l)egun,and that along
such a coast as that of Greenland eddies and reverse currents
cannot fail to occur. W'hile not without weight, I cannot assign
to Nansen’s objection sufficient weight to overcome the other in-
dications, which f(jr me, at least, lead to the conclusion that the
so-called Jeannette relics have not l)een shown to have any certain
connection with the Jeannette expedition. Furthermore, there
is no certainty that tlie ,\laskan throwing-stick was l»rought to
the coast of Greenland Ijy oceanic currents, and even if it was,
the time occupied in the transit and the route are alike abso-
lutely unknown, so that speculations as to a drift across the
region of the I’ole receive from this incident no ))ositive con-
tirmation.

Ailmiral Sir E. Inglefield, the distinguished Arctic traveler, at
the meeting of the Koval ( !eogra|)hical Society called to discuss

NANSEX’S POLAR EXPEDITION

Nansen’s plans, told of finding a fresh stick of Siberian pine,
with the bark still upon it and which seemed to have been only
a few months in the water, on the west shore of Wellington
channel, which enters Baffin’s hay from the west.* If such a
tree could l^e carried eastward in a few months from Siberia to
a [)oint accessible by ships from Baffin’s bay, why is it not more
))robable that this throwing-stick, lost near Port Clarence, was
carried north and east by the well-known northeasterly shore
current ])ast point Barrow and so on to Baffin’s bay and the
Greenland coast?

At this meeting such Arctic authorities as Admiral Sir George
Nares, Cai)tain Wharton, Hydrogra])her II. N., ex-Hydrographer
Sir George Bichards, K. N., and Sir Joseph Hooker united in the
opinion that nothing was known about the direction or exist-
ence of sea currents in the region Nansen ho})ed to traverse, and
that all o[)inions in regard to them must l)e purely speculative.
The doubtful character of the so-called Jeannette relics was also
distinctl}" pointed out.f It cannot be said therefore that Nansen
])ursued his {)lans in ignorance of the doubtful elements of his
hyi)othesis, but rather that his courage, energ}", and audacity
were such that he was willing to risk everything to put his specu-
lations to a final test.

NANSEN’S POLAR EXPEDITION

By General A. W. Greely,

Chief Signal Officer, United States Armij

The continuing interest of the unsolved polar mystery has
been strikingly illustrated by the eagerness with which the press
of the world has caught at every word that seems to indicate
the success and safety of the brave Norwegian in his dangerous
drift- voyage toward the north ])ole. ,

Dr Fridtjof Nansen, born in 1861, became famous by cross-
ing, first of all men, the inland ice of Greenland in 1888 from
Umivik, 64° 45' north, on the east coast, to Kangersunek fiord, 50
miles south of Godthaab. Later, he conceived a novel and
dangerous }>lan for polar work. Ignoring the accepted rules of

* Geographical Journal, Jan., 1893, p. 25.
t Op. cit., pp. 22-32.

(f)

f—

I-

cc:

^ CO

^ s

r ^

0; Q;

.<0 ^

O O -c;

D <D (» C

O o C«5 *s.

1
I

currents

SHOWING ROUTES TRAVERSED BY THE NANSEN EXPEDITION

NAT. GEOG. MAG.

VOL. VII, 1896, PL. XI

DR FRIDTJOF NANSEN

XAXSEy’S POLAR EXPEDITIOX

ice navigation — of avoiding besetment and following the pro-
tected lee of land-masses — he decided to put his ship into the
ice to the north of the New Siberian islands, whence he believed
that he would be carried by ocean currents across the pole to
the Spitzhergen sea. His steamer, Frnm, 125 feet long, with an
oak hull 30 inches thick and sheathed with greenheart, was built
so as to rise under ice jn-essure, as he claimed. The crew of twelve
were provisioned for five years, though he expected, by a drift of
a little over two miles per day, to reach the Atlantic in two years.
No explorer of experience endorsed the plan, but with undaunted
courage Nansen sailed June 24, 1S93, and entering the sea of
Kara was last seen to the east of Nova Zernbla in September, 1893.
He visited neither the Taimur peninsula nor the New Siberian
islands, as events have since shown.

Fehruaiy 13, 1896, a dispatch from Irkutsk, on the authority
of Konchnareff, an agent of Nansen, stated that the explorer,
having reached land-masses at the North Pole, was now returning.
Two days later a dispatch from Archangel confirmed the first re-
port in general terms onl3^ From the beginning no credit was
given to these dispatches by any American arctic explorer or
student. Melville, Schutze, Dali, and the writer were strenuous in
disbelief, hut the story was credited by scores of persons, both
in Europe and this country, who did not find it peculiar that a
story from the center of Asia was confirmed from the north of
Europe, nor were surprised that such news came from the Si-
berian ocean in midwinter. Through the Norwegian press Nan-
sen’s relatives announce their disbelief in this rumor.

As to the drift-relics found on the west coast of Greenland,
which were relied on by Nansen as practical proof that his theory
of a drift voyage was correct, it may he said tliat Melville, the
man best qualified to speak about the Jeannette, denied at the
time their genuineness and endeavored without avail to have
them brought to this country. The writer puhlicl}’^ called Nan-
sen’s attention to this question, which for the first time seems to
have created doubts in his mind. Nansen made efforts to find
the relics for verification, but they had disa])])eared in toto.

\Vhile Nansen’s journey is (‘.xceedingly dangerous, it would
not he astfjuishing if ho was able to return from his ship, if it
was lost Sf)uth of 81° north, to the Asiatic coast, hut if he really
a])|)roached the North Polo, as is po.ssil)le, before his ve.ssel was
destroyed, it is .safe to say that he will i>ay for an une(pial(‘d

100

jXANSEmY’S polar expedition

latitude with his life and carry the secret of his well-earned suc-
cess to his grave.

The numerous errors lately set forth in the i)ress indicate the
need of accurate data relative to latitudes attained. -

Tlie tendency to unfairly present data in the interests of indi-
viduals or nations is of con.stant occurrence, and it is not sur-
prising that the general pnlhic should l)e unfamiliar with all the
hicts. This is especially true in Arctic matters, as is shown by
the North Polar chart in “ The Times Atlas,” 1895, so much
lauded for its fullness and accuracy. On this chart the highest
north of the German, Swedish, and Plnglish (Parry’s, 1827) ex-
])editions is so described in full lyv text and latitudes. In the
case of Beaumont, the English explorer, his latitude is given as
82° 54' north, which is 33 miles too far north, and his record is
s])read on the maj) above that of Lockwood, while the last-
named explorer, who actually made' the highest north ever
attained, has not even his latitude entered. In this remarkable
case o( s>(j>prcnsio vert an American explorer loses his nationality^
his latitude, and his hard-earned record, all other nationalities
having their data entered in full.

Under these conditions it seems to he rendering a geograph-
ical service to reproduce here a table extracted from a “ Hand-
book of Arctic Discovery,” written by myself.

Reconix of the IPojhext North )nadr sinre 15S7 in the Eaxtern and Western
llemixpheres Inj Ltnid and Inj Sea.*

E.\STEUN I tE.MI.SeilERE.

Coniniander.

Date.

N. lat.

Long.

Locality.

AVilliani Barents . .

July 14, 1594

77° 20'

62° E.

Xear cape Xa.ssan,
X. Z.

Ryp and Ileeins-
kerek (Barents’
third vovage).

June 19, 159(i

79° 49'

12° E.

X. Spitzbergen.

1 lenrv Iliulson ....

July 13, 1()07

80° 23'

10° E.

S])itzbergen sea.

ii ii

J. C. Phipps

Julv 27, 1773

80° 48'

20° E.

William Seoresbv. .

Alav 24, 180()

81° 30'

19° E.

U U

W. E. Pan v

July 23. 1827

82° 45'

20° E.

“ “

Nordenskiold anil
Otter.

Sept. 19, 1808

81° 42'

18° E.

Si)itzbergen sea,
highest by ship.

AVeyprecht and
Payer.

April 12, 1874

82° 05'

Franz Josef Land,
by Payer, highest
land.

* Notk.— This table is reproduced by permission of Roberts Broiliers, Publisliers.

KAXSEN’S POLAR EXPEDITION

101

Western Hemisphere.

Commander.

Date.

N. lat.

Long.

Locality.

John Davis

June 30, 1587

72° 12^

56° AV.

AA'. Greenland.

Henry H udson ....

June 20, 1607

73°

20° AV.

Off E. Greenland.

William Baffin ....

July 4, 1616

77° 45'

72° AV.

Smith sound.

E. A. Inglefleld., . .

Aug. 27, 1852

78° 21'

74° AV.

Smith sound.

E. K. Kane

June 24, 1854

80° 10'

67° AV.

Cape Constitution,
Greenland, by
Alorton.

C. F. Hall

Aug. 30, 1870

82° 11'

61° AV.

Frozen sea.

C. F. Hall

June 30, 1871

82° 07'

59° AV.

Greenland, by Ser-
geant Aleyer, Sig-
nal Corps, U. S.
Armv.

G. S. Nares

Sept. 25, 1875

82° 48'

65° AV.

Grinnell Land, by
Aldrich.

G. S. Nares

May 12, 1876

83° 20'

65° AV.

Frozen sea, by A.
II. Markham.

A. AV. Greely

May 13, 1882

83° 24'

41° AV.

New Land, north
of Greenland, by
Lockwood and
Brainard.

Doiiljtless the name of some whaler should follow that of Baffin
in the above list, but the inexactitude of most high latitudes re-
ported by whalers is well known. Possibly the re})orted north-
ing of Lambert, 78^ degrees north, in 1G70, on the east Greenland
coast, may have exceeded Ingiefield’s exact latitude of 78° 21'.

Sweden holds the ship^s record in the old world, but Parry beat
it by boats. It will be noted that England held the honors of
the farthest north through Hudson, 1607 ; Phipps, 1773; Parry,
1827, and Nares, by Aldrich, 1875, and by Markham, 1876. This
record, unlu’oken for 275 years, ]iassed to the United States
through the efforts of the International Polar Expedition, under
Lieutenant Greely, which, liy Lockwood and Brainard, reached
83° 24', the most northerly point, whether on sea or land, ever
attained by man, which Nansen or .lackson may jiossibly exeeb

Aiming other Ingh latitudes attained, but not pertinent to this
tal)le, are the following: Ha}’es, about 80° 10', in 1861 ; .Tack-
son, 81° 20', in 18‘.15 ; Peary, 81° 37', in 1801 and 1805; Beau-
mont, 82° 21', in 1876; Pavey (with Greely), 82° 54', in 1882,
and .Aldrich, 83° 07', in 1876.

THE SUBMARINE CABLES OF THE WORLD

By Gustave Herrle

The English give Professor (afterward Sir) Charles MTieat-
stone the credit of being the originator of submarine cables, that
gentleman having laid before the House of Commons in 1840 a
sclieme for the laying of a telegraph cable across the channel
between Dover and Calais, but his plans do not seem to have
been fully matured.

In tlie United States, in 1842, Professor S. F. B. INIorse experi-
mented witli a sulmiarine cable l^etween Castle Garden and
Governor’s island, New York harbor, and a year later, in detail-
ing the results of his exi)eriments with an electro-magnetic tele-
graph in a letter to the then Secretary of the Treasury, J. C.
Spencer, he said :

. . . The i>ractical inference from this law is that a tele'

grai^hic communication on the electro-magnetic plan may with
certainty be established across the Atlantic. Startling as this
may seem now, I am confident the time will come when this
project will l^e realized.” . . .

It was not, however, until 1850 that the first submarine cable
in the open sea was laid. This was the cable across the channel
between Dover and Calais. It was made of copper wire, covered
with gutta-percha to half an inch in diameter, the shore ends of
the wire being doubly covered with cotton, overlaid Avith a coat-
ing of India rubber, and the whole inclosed in a thick lead pipe.
This cable did not work successfully, on account of defective in-
sulation, and had to be aljandoned. Another authority states
that telegraphic communication was maintained for a few hours,
Avhen it Avas suddenly interrupted, the cause being, as AA'as after-
Avards discovered, the cutting of the cable by a French fisher-
man, who, it is said, exhibited a piece of it to the astonished
})eoj)le of a neighl)oring town as a rare specimen of sea-Aveed Avith
its center filled Avith gold. Be that as it may, to guard against
such casualities tlie ucav cable, laid in the folloAving year (1851),
betAveen Dover and Calais, Avas made much stronger, consisting
of a wire insulated Avith gutta-percha and forming a core to a
Avire rope as a jirotector. This calde Avas an entire success, arid.

102

THE SUBMARINE CABLES OF THE WORLD

103

• as a consequence, the establishment of a number of short sub-
marine cables in Europe and America followed shortly afterward.

In 1854, Mr C}wus W. Field, whose memory will ever be dear
to the liearts of Americans, took up, in compan}'’ with American
and English capitalists, the project to connect Europe and
America b}’- a submarine cable, and on August 7, 1857, the lay-
ing of the first Atlantic cable was begun by the U. S. frigate
Xiagara, which sailed from Valentia, Ireland, in the direction of
Heart’s Content, Newfoundland. When about 400 miles had
been laid, the cable broke and the steamer returned. In the
following 3’ear, 1858, the attempt was renewed, H. ]\I. S. Aga-
memnon, with one portion of the cable, and the U. 8. frigate
Xiagara, with the other portion, meeting in mid-ocean, in about
latitude 52° 02' north, longitude 33° 18' west, to splice the cable
there, and then to lay it, one shi]) sailing eastward and the other
westward. In this attempt also the cable broke and the steam-
ers returned to port, but a sufficient length of cable being left,
another attempt was made later in the year and the laying was
successful!}^ accomplished over the whole distance. America and
Europe were united by telegraphic communication on August 5,
and congratulatory messages were exchanged between the two
continents. This is what the Queen of England telegraplied to
the President of the United States :

“The Queen desires to congratulate the President upon the successful
completion of this great international work, in which the Queen has
taken the deepest interest. The Queen is convinced that the President
will join with her in ferventl}'^ hoping that the electric cable which now
connects Great Britian with the United States will prove an additional
link between the nations whose friendship is founded upon their common
interest and reciprocal esteem. The Queen has much pleasure in com-
municating with the President, and renewing to him her wishes for the
prosperity of the United States.”

4'o this President Buchanan replied as follows :

“The President cordially reciprocates the congratulations of Her IMajesty
the Queen on the success of the great international enterprise aci’om-
plished l)y the science, skill, and indomitable enersry of the two countries.
It is a triumph more glorious, because far more useful to mankind, than
was ever won Ijy comiueror on the field of battle. }Iay the .Atlantic tele-
graph, nniler the blessing of Heaven, ])rove to b(‘ a bond of perp(>tual
peace ami friendship between the kindred nations, and an instrument
destineil l>y Divine Providenc-e to dilfuse religion, civilization, liberty,
and law throughout the world. In this view will not all nations of
f’hristendom spontaneously unite in the declaration that it shall lu- for-
ever neutral, and that its communications shall be held sacred in passing
to their places of destination, even in the midst of hostilities?”

104

THE SUBMARINE CABLES OF THE ^YORLD

liut, alas, the joy over the greatest triumph of the age was des-
tined to be of short duration. In less than a month the cable
refused to work, owing to some fault the nature of which could
not be definitel}'’ ascertained. It was at last abandoned in de-
spair, and no further attempt to lay another one was made until
18(>4, when the Atlantic Telegraph Company made with the
Telegraph Construction and INIaintenance Company a contract
for a new cable between Valentia and Heart’s Content and char-
tered the steamship Great Eastern to lay it. This cable was 2,273
nautical miles* long, and its weight was 300 pounds per mile.
Its laying down commenced on July 23, 1865, Mr Cyrus W. Field
being on board the ship, but on August 2, after about 1,400 knots
had been paid out, the cable parted and the broken end disap-
peared from view. The Great Eastern remained near the scene
of the accident until August 11, when she gave up the attempt
to recover the cable and returned to Europe. Thus another
hope, another aspiration, was buried, and we may well imagine
the feelings of those who had put their faith and their money
into the undertaking.

The story of this attempt and of the successful recovery of
the lost cable a year later by means of grapnels from a depth of
over 2,000 fathoms forms one of the most interesting chapters in
the histoiy of submarine telegra])hy ; but after all the disheart-
ening failures which had attended the laying of the first three
Atlantic cal)les, the indomitable pluck and energ}’^ of iNIr Field
and his associates were to be finally rewarded with success. A
new cable was ordered, and on July 13, 1866, the Great Eastern
again started from Valentia and, without further serious mis-
hap, finished the ia^ung over the whole distance on July 27,
when the cable was spliced to the shore end at Heart’s Content.
IMoreover, on September 1 following, the Great Eastern recovered
the lost cable of the previous year, spliced it to the cable on
board, and completed the laying of it toward Heart’s Content,
thus establishing a duplicate line. Ever since that time we have
had uninterrupted telegraphic connection Avith Europe, and this
1866 cable thus became the pioneer of the long-distance, deep-
sea cables.

Immense progress has since been made in the establishment
of submarine telegraph lines. A fieet of between thirt}'’-five and
forty steamers, specially constructed and equi})ped for cable

*A nautical mile, as defined by the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, equals
6,080.27 feet, or 1.1516 statute miles.

THE SUBMARINE CABLES OF THE WORLD

105

service, sprang into existence, and the present total length of
the submarine cables of the world is, in round numbers, 160,000
nautical miles, or enough to girdle the earth seven and one-half
times at the equator. At an average cost of SI, 200 per mile, the
entire system represents an outlay of $192,000,000. Of the total
mileage about one-eighth is under the control of various national
governments.

The Hydrographic Office issued, in 1892, a book on Sub-
marine Cables,” prepared by Mr G. W. Littlehales as a part of
the report of that Office on the survey made by the U. S. shij)S
Albatross and Thetis for an ocean cable route between San Fran-
cisco and Honolulu. It contains a large amount of interesting
infonnation, including valuable statistical data, among which is
a complete list of the Submarine' Cables of the world, in detail.
The tallies being much too voluminous for publication in these
pages, the following list of the more important cables has been
compiled from them, the reader being referred to the original
report for information concerning the shorter cables and for
more complete data generally :

CABLES OVER FOUR HUNDRED NAUTICAL MILES LONG, OPERATED
BY GOVERNMENTS.

France; Mar.seille.s to Algiers, 3 cables, 488, 496, and 500; Teneriffe to
St. Louis, Senegal, 865.

Cochin China and Tonkin: Cape St. James to Thuan-An (Hue), 5.30.

British India: 5Ianora to Jask, 531; Jask to Biishire, 2 cables, 519
and .500.

CABLES OVER FOUR HUNDRED NAUTICAL MILES LONG, OWNED BY

PRIVATE COMPANIES ; ALSO TOTAL LENGTH OF CABLES OPERATED

BY EACH CO.MPANY.

Direct .Spanish Telegraph Company, total, 708: Kennack Cove, Corn-
wall, to Las Arenas, near Bilbao, 487.

Halifax and Bermuda Cable Company: Halifax, N. S., t<j Hamilton,
Bermuda, 8.50.

Spanish National Submarine Telegra[)h Company, total, 2,1.59 : Cadiz to
Santa Cruz d(; Tenerille, 8(i4 ; Tejita, Tenerilfe, to .st. Louis, Senegal, .S(i.5.

West African Telegraj)!! Company, total, 3,015: Kotonu to St. Thomas,
486; St. Thomas to Loanda, 760.

Hreat Northern Telegraph Company, Europe and Asia, hdal, 6,932;
Newhiggin, England, to .\rendal, Norway, 424 ; New biggin to iMarstrami,
Sweden, 510; Newbiggin to Ilirtshals, Denmark, 420; Amoy to (lutzlall',
China, .5!»0 ; Hutzlalfto Nagasaki, .hi|>an, 427 ; (hitzlalfto Nagasaki, 416:
Nagasaki to Vladivostfick, llussia, 2 cables, 7.53 and 766.

106

THE SUBMARINE CABLES OF THE WORLD

Eastern Telegraph Companj’, total, 27,453: Porthcurno, Land’s End,
England, to Lisbon, Portugal, 2 cables, iS50 and 892 ; Porthcurno to Vigo,
Spain, 622; Gibraltar to Malta, 2 cables, 1,118 and 1,126; ^Marseilles,
France, to Bona, Algeria, 2 cables, 447 and 463; Trieste, Austria, to
Corfu, 503 ; Malhi to Alexandria, Egypt, 2 cables, 928 and 91 1 ; Suez,
Egypt, to Suakiin, Soudan, 3 cables, 936, 811, and 811; Suez to Aden,
794; Suez to Periin Island, 1,331 ; Suakiin to Periin Island, 597 ; Suakim
to Aden, 2 cables, 794 each; Aden to Bombay, 3 cables, 1,850, 1,859, and
1 ,885.

Eastern and South African Telegraph Company, total, 6,796 (increased
since 1892 to 8,841) : Aden to Zanzibar, 1,909; Zanzibar to ^Mozambique,
2 cables, 644 and 686 ; ^Mozambique to Louren^o-^Iarques, Delagoa bay,
970; Cape Town to Port Xolloth, 433 ; Port Xolloth to Mossamedes, 1,052.

Eastern extension, Australiusia, and China Telegraph Company, total,
17,342: Madras to Penang, 2 caliles, 1,462 and 1,389; Rangoon to Penang,
864 ; Singapore to Saigon, Cochin China, 628 ; Haiphong, Tonkin, to Hong-
kong, 470; Fuchau to Hongkong, 472; Saigon to Hongkong, 990; Saigon
to Thuan-An, 516; Hongkong to cape Bolinao, island of Luzon, 529 5
Singapore to Batavia, Java, 541 ; Singapore to Banjuwangi, Java, 921 ;
Banjuwangi to Port Darwin, Australia, 2 cables, 1,143 and 1,124; Banju-
wangi to Roebuck bay, Australia, 892; Sydney to Xelson, Xew Zealand,
2 cables, 1,284 and 1,322; Hongkong to Fuchau, 472; Fuchau to Shang-
hai, 449.

Anglo- -Vmerican Telegraph Company, total, 10,400 (increased to 12,290
since 1892): Valentia, Ireland, to Heart’s Content, Xewfoundland, 3 ca-
ble.s, 1,84(), 1,881, and 1,899; Minou, France, to St. Pierre, 2,718; St.
Pierre to Duxbury, ^lassachusetts, 809.

Direct United States Cable Company, total, 3,099: Ballinskelligs bay,
Ireland, to Halifax, 2,564; Halifox to Rye Beach, Xew Hampshire, 535.

Coinjiagnie Fram;aise du Telegraphe de Paris a X"ew York, total, 3,496 5
Brest to St. Pierre, 2,282; St. Pierre to Cape Cod, .Massachusetts, 828.

Western Union Telegrajih Company, total, 7,743: Penzance, England,
to Canso, X'ova Scotia, 2 cables, 2, .531 and 2,576; Canso to Xew York, 2 ca-
bles, each 888.

The Commercial Cable Company, total, 6,938 (since increased to 9,075) :
Havre to Waterville, Ireland, 510; M’atetville to Can.so, 3 cables, 2,138,
2,3-50, and 2,388; Canso to Xew York, 841; Canso to Rockjiort, Massa-
chu.setts, 519.

Brazilian Submarine Telegraph Company, total, 7,369: Lisbon to Ma-
deira, 2 cables, 627 and 631 ; Madeira to St. Vincent, Cape Verde island,
2 cables, 1,168 and 1,209; St. Vincent to Pernambuco, Brazil, 2 cables,
1,862 and 1,872.

African Direct Telegraph Company, total, 2,746: Santiago to Bathurst,
471 ; Bathurst to Sierra Leone, 463 ; Sierra Leone to Akkra, 1,020.

Cuba Submarine Telegraph Company, total, 1,.500: Cienfuegos to San-
tiago, Cuba, 3 cables, 400, 420, and 420.

West India and Panama Telegrajih Company, total, 4,557 : Kingston,
Jamaica, to Colon, Panama isthmus, 630 ; Holland bay to San Juan, Porto
Rico, 683; Holland bay to Ponce, Porto Rico, 647 ; St. Croix to Port of
Spain, Trinidad, .541.

THE SUBMARINE CABLES OF THE WORLD

107

Societe Fran^aise Des Telegraphes Sous-Mariiis, total, 3,754 (since in-
creased to 4,544) : Porto-Plata, Santo Domingo, to Fort de France, Mar-
tinique, 787 ; Fort de France to Paramaribo, Dutch Guiana, 777 ; Ca}-enne
to Yizeu, Brazil, 002; Santo Domingo to Curac;ao, 453.

Western and Brazilian Telegraph Company, total, 3,904 (since increased
to 0,144): Maranham to Ceara, Brazil, 400; Ceara to Pernambuco, 470;
Bahia to Rio de Janeiro, 837.

^lexical! Telegraph Company, total, 1,523: Galveston, Texas, to Tam-
pico, IMexico, 490 ; Galveston to Coatzacoalcos, Mexico, 822.

Central and South American Telegraph Company, total, 7,497 : Salina
Cruz, IMexico, to Libertad, Salvador, 434; San Juan del Sur to Panama,
721 ; Buenaventura to St. Elena, Ecuador, 480; Paita to Callao-Lima, Peru,
553 ; Callao-Lima to Icpiique, Chile, 747 ; Iquique to Valparaiso, Chile,
877.

AVest Coast of America Telegraph Compan}^ total, 1,099 (since increased
to 1,904) : Callao-Lima to Mollendo, Peru, 510.

NOTE ON COMPILATtON OF CHAET.

This chart (see frontispiece) was comjiiled in the U. S. Hydrographic
OtHce from the latest information, and is a facsimile of H. 0. chart* No.
1530, just issued by that Office.

Tlie twelve cables across tlie North Atlantic ocean were plotted, from
their terminal points on the American continent to meridian 40° west, from
positions furnished by the re.spective cable companies, with the excejition
of three — the Western Union of 1881 and 1882 and the Mackay-Bennett
of 1894— for which positions were furnished all the way across. From
the European terminal points to meridian 40° west, the cables, with the
exceptions just mentioned, were plotted from information deposited in
the Office of Naval Intelligence.

A map furnished by tlie Western Union Telegrajib Comjiany was used
for the jilottingof the princijial connecting land lines in the United States.

The cables and land lines of Japan were taken chictly from the Outline
Map of Japan showing the princijial Post, Telegrajih, and Railway Routes,
jiublished by the Japanese Dejiartment of Communications in 1888, and
which accomjianies “A concise Dictionary of the jirincijial Roads and
Chief Towns and Villages of Jajian,” by W. N. Whitnej’, AI. D., formerly
Interjireter at the I". S. Legation at Tokyo.

The other cables and land lines of the World were taken cbielly from
the “Carte des Communications Tf-legraphiiiues du Regime Extra-Euro-
jieen dressee d’ajires des documents olliciels jiar Le Bureau International
des Administrations Telegraphiijues,” Berne, 1888.

The Coaling, Docking, and Rejiairing Stations of the World and their
different grades of facilities were compiled mainly from a |)ublieation of
the Office of .Naval Intelligence, entitled “Coaling, Docking, and Ihqiair-
ing Facilities of the INirts of the World,” 18!)2, ami corrections thereto uj>
to December, 1895, and from the British Dock book of 18tl4.

*Tliis chart io sold hy the Hydro^niphic Ollicp and its agents at .'lo conls per copy.

PETER COOPER AND SUBMARINE TELEGRAPHY

In presenting to its readers a chart of the submarine telegraph
cables of the world, Tuk National Gioographic iNlAGAzrxn was
unwilling that this graphic representation of intercontinental
communication should be unaccompanied by some reference to
one of its earliest and most effective pioneers, the late Peter
Cooper. It is well to recall to tlie rising generation its indebted-
ness to Mr Cooper for his eminent services in fostering the initia-
tion of this now elaborate network between the widely sepa-
rated continents of the earth. With considerable reluctance, and
onl}" after repeated urging, one of the actors in this great work,
the Honorable Abram S. Hewitt, has outlined, in a letter all too
brief, the i»art played b}" Mr Cooper. The letter is as follows :

“ The story of the Atlantic Calile has been so fully and so well
told l)y the Rev. Henry M. Field in his history, published in
18!)'2 by Messrs Scribner & Sons of this cit}^, that only the briefest
outline is necessary to call public attention to the origin of an
enterprise which, at the time of its inception, was regarded with
incredulity, and whose jirosecution and final success have all
the elements of a romance.

“ My first knowledge of the enterprise was in 1854, when Mr
Cyrus \V. Field invited Mr Peter Cooper and other gentlemen
to listen to the jiropo.sitions of P’rederick N. Gisborne, who had
come to New York for the purpose of interesting cajiital in con-
structing a line of telegrajih across Newfoundland, so as to get
the news at cape Race from the European steamers and trans-
mit it thence overland to the gulf of St. Lawrence and thence
by fast steamers to cape Breton, whence land lines had been
constructed connecting with our American system. In that in-
terview no suggestion was made for a cable across the gulf of
St. Lawrence, because it was doubtful at that time whether sub-
marine communication of such length could 4>e established and
maintained. The amount of money required was not very con-
siderable, and the gentlemen a))pealed to, being all men of large
views, came to the conclusion that they would contribute the
amount, not so much as a commercial s{)eculation as from con-
siderations of the advantage of early news in business transac-
tions affecting the two continents. The Newfoundland Com])any

108

PETER COOPER AND SUBMARINE TELEGRAPHY

10!)

Avas organized, Avith ]\[r Cooper as its president and Mr Field as
its actiA’e manager. The other gentlemen concerned in the un-
dertaking AA'ere INIoses TaAdor, Marshall 0. Roberts, Chandler \\'.
MTiite, and, at a later period, Wilson G. Hunt. DaA’id Dudley
Field also took an interest and Avas legal adAusor of the company.

“Arrangements AA'ere made for the construction of the land
line AA’ithout delay, and later, AAdien the experience of the Euro-
pean submarine cables established the practicability of longer
lines, it Avas decided to lay the cable across the gulf of St. LaAA'-
rence, a distance of about eighty miles. The first attempt to lay
this cable AA*as a failure, OAAung to the imperfect arrangements for
transporting the calde across the gulf, and the occurrence of a
storm AA'hich caused the seA^erance of the cable AAdren the A^essel
engaged in laying it AA'as midAA^aA'^ betAA^een the tAAm termini. It
AA'as determined. liOAA'eA'er, to reneAV the attempt, and in the fol-
loAA’ing year a cable AA'as successful!}^ laid, and the original plan
of the company for intercepting neAA'S at cape Race Avas carried
into effect. As a matter of course, the enterprise AA'as not a com-
mercial success, but its adA’antages AA’ere so apparent that the
parties in interest concluded that the time had come to make
the attempt to continue the cable from NeAA'foundland to the
coast of Ireland. Tiie idea AA'as a daring one, but the highest
electrical authorities concurred in opinion that it AA'as feasible.
Mr Field proceeded to England to organize a company, in Avhich
he succeeded, and AA'hich resulted in the attempt to lay the cable
in 1857, made by the Agamemnon on the British side and by the
Niagara on the American side. I need not rehearse the story of
the successiA'e failures, but the first one occurred in 1857, during
the panic of that year, AA’hich spread AA'ide ruin throughout the
country. Among others, Mr Field Avas comj)elled to succuml),
and it seemed prol)able that any further attempt to construct
and lay the cable aa'ouUI l)e abandoned. It Avas at thisjuncture
that tlie strong common sense and unshaken faith of Peter
Ctjoper came into ]>lay. When the financial storm had abat(‘(l,
ho urged Mr Field to undertake the resuscitation of the enter-
}»rise, and he oflered to advance, and actually did advance, the
money n;fiuired for Mr Field’s expenditures, until such time as
the success of the cable might be demonstrated and assured.
Some of the oth(;r gentlemen deelim.-dto participate in these ad-
A’ances, and hence the burden U))on Mr Cooper was very onerous
and gave great concern to his family. Nevertheless Mr Field
soon recovered his confidence, and Avith indomitable courage

no RUSSO-AMERICAX TELEGRAPH PROJECT OF 1864-'67

and indefiitigable industry he finall}" succeeded in accomplish-
ing the difficult undertaking with which his name and fame are
justly identified. So far as Mr Cooper and his famil}' were con-
cerned, they did what they could to secure the success of the
enterprise, and I think it may he justly asserted that, without Mr
Coo])er’s assistance and absolute faith in the final success of the
undertaking, its realization would have been postponed for many
j^ears. In the end he was fully indemnified, and perhaps amply
rewarded, for his investment, hut without detracting in the
slightest from the credit which is justly accorded to Mr Field,
I think I am justified in making, at your request, this brief
statement, in order to show that without the unflinching courage
and cooi)eration of Mr Cooper, INIr Field would hardly have been
in a position to achieve the triumph which he finally secured,
and for which his memoiy is entitled to tlie veneration of suc-
ceeding generations.”

THE RUSSO-AMERICAN TELEGRAPH PROJECT OF

i864-’67

By Professor William H. Ball

Tlie possibility of constructing a line of telegraph overland
through Siberia and northwestern America had doubtless oc-
curred to many, hut the first person to endeavor to give practical
effect to the conception appears to have been Mr Perry M. Collins,
of California, who in ISoh and for some years suhsequenth" was
United States consular agent at Xikolaievsk, on the Amur river,
eastern Siberia. By dint of constant activity and perseverance,
Mr Collins succeeded in obtaining the concessions necessary to
the construction of a line of telegraph, with all needful acces-
sories, from the Amur to tlie British Columbian line through
eastern Siberia and the Bussian-American colonies, and also
through the British territories in America.

Continual mishaps in the course of the attempts to la}" a work-
able cable across the Atlantic had led many telegraphers to
lielieve that the plan was im])racticable, though they had no
doubt of their ability to construct and keep in working order
shorter lines, such as that proposed across Bering strait. The
]>ropositions of Mr Collins were laid before the Directors of the
Western Union Telegraph Comjiany, March 16, 1864. They ac-

NAT. GEOG. MAG.

VOL. VII, 1896, PL, XII

WILLIAM H DALL

EUSSO-AMERICAX TELEGRAPH PROJECT OF 1864-' 61 111

cepted, by a unanimous vote, the transfer of his rights and in-
terests, and on iNIarch 18 completed an organization for the
carrying out of the project.

An expedition to explore the proposed route, under Col, Chas. S.
Eulkley, formerly of the United States military telegraph corps,
was immediately organized. Col. Eulkley reached the Pacific
coast in January, 1865. The exploration of the Eritish Colum-
bian line was directed b}’’ Edmund Conway, that of Russian
America h}^ Robert Kennicott and that of eastern Siberia by
Sergius Ahasa. The United States detailed Capt. C. M. Scam-
mon, of the Revenue Marine Service, and two other officers to
the fleet fitted out by the company, and the Russian government
lent the aid of the corvette Vsadnik, The first visit was paid to
tlie Russian authorities at Sitka in March, 1865. In July par-
ties were on the way to Siberia, Alaska, and Eering strait. Ex-
plorations during this and the following season demonstrated
the practicability of the route selected, and saw a small amount
of line constructed, every endeavor being made to carry out the
project.

In 1867 the Atlantic cable at last proved itself a working suc-
cess. On the other hand, the experience gained by the expedi-
tions sent out in connection with the Russo-American project
showed that tlie maintenance of the projected line would he so
expensive as to make it iin possible for it to compete with the
Atlantic cable, commercially. Consequently the company de-
cided to withdraw from the enterprise and in the autumn of
1867 the parties returned to California.

The route chosen was up the valley of the Fraser river in
Eritish Columbia and down the Yukon to the Nulato bend,
thence across country to Port Clarence, where a caljle was to con-
nect with the Siberian lines. The latter would leave the Chukchi
peninsula, cross the neck of the i)cninsula of Kamchatka and
skirt the shores of the Okhotsk sea, joining the Russian lines at
Nikolaiev.sk. It is stated that a large part of the fourteen
millions of (hdlars rej)resented by the stock was actually ex-
])ended in the work ; at all events a large amount of money was
spent, and the only returns were those public benefits implied
by an increase of geographical and other .scientific knowledge
and the training of a number of exi»l(M'er.s and investigators.

SURVEY AND SUBDIVISION OF INDIAN TERRITORY

By Hexry Gannett,

Chief Topographer, United States Geological Survey

The condition of things in Indian Territory is anomalous.
The Territory is an area of some 31,000 square miles, divided
among what are called the Five Civilized Tribes — the Cherokees,
Choctaws, Chickasaws, Creeks, and Seminoles — the reservation of
each tribe being owned by the tribe. Such a thing as private
ownership of land is unknown. Each individual entitled to do
so is, however, ijermitted to take up and occup}' any land which
is not already occupied, but in so doing he does not acquire title.

The population of the Territory consists of some 50,000 In-
dians, a few whites who have married Indian women and have
thus acquired membership in the tribe, with the accompanying
}>rivileges and emoluments ; a few thousand negroes, mostly the
descendants of slaves, and a large number, variously estimated
at from 1 00,000 to200,000,of whites, who are living in the Territory
on sufferance, some legally upon the payment of a small tax,
others without the shadow of right or authority. These latter
are known as interlopers.

As might be expected under this condition of affairs, the whites
Avho have married Indian women, being much shrewder and
more experienced than the Indians, have acquired by the right
of occupation nearly all the landed property which is worth
having in the Territory. They own, if it can be called owning,
all the best farming and grazing land, all the timber land which
is of immediate value, all the town sites, and all the mineral
land which is worth having, and by leasing this property to
whites they are rapidly acquiring great wealth.

Although in many respects quite advanced in the arts of civili-
zation, the governments established by these Indians are weak
and insufficient. So far as the control of the Indians themselves
is concerned, they may have ample power, but at present they
are called on to cope with and control a large body of whites,
outnumbering themselves at least three to one, and composed
largely of the rough, lawless, frontier element ; indeed, were not
the tribal governments reinforced by the power of the United

112

SURVEY AND SUBDIVISION OF INDIAN TERRITORY 113

States courts the Territory would long ago have been in a state
of anarchy.

This situation of affairs, instead of improving with time, is
rapidly becoming worse, inasmuch as the number of interlopers
in the Territoiy is constantly and rapidly increasing. The remedy

OUTLI.NE .MAP OF INDIAN TERRITORY, SHOWING PROGRESS OF SUHDIVISION SURVEY
UP TO JANUARY I, 1896.

for this threatening aspect of affairs is plainly the substitution of
a territorial government by all inhabitants for the present tribal
governments of the Indian minority, the allotment of land to
the Indians, and the con.se<iueiit establishment of land titles.

Foreseeing the neciissity of this solution, (longnj.ss has for the
I>ast two years been endeavoring to treat with the tribes for the

114 SURVEY AXD SUBDIVISIOX OF IXlJlAX TERRITORY

purpose of inducing them to accept their lands in severalty. In
pursuance of this object two different commissions have been
appointed, each of which has spent several months in the Terri-
tory endeavoring to obtain a hearing from the tribes, but thus
for without the slightest result. The tribes have declined abso-
lutely to treat with them upon this subject.

During the progress of these attempts at negotiation Congress
has taken another step in the same direction. In March, 1895, an
appropriation of 8200.000 was made by Congress for commencing
the survey and subdivision of the lands of the Territory, being
the necessary ])reliminaiw step toward allotment. This work
was placed by the Secretary of the Interior in the hg^nds of the
Director of the Geological Surve}^, instead of being let out on
contract, as has been done in all cases of subdivision heretofore.
The Chickasaw nation was excepted, as it was subdivided in
1873. The work was commenced in April under the following
plan : The Indian base line, which forms the base line of the
Chickasaw nation and of Oklahoma, was adopted for carrying
the work into the other nations. The second guide meridian
east of the principal meridian of the Chickasaw nation was run
northward and southward as a principal meridian for the other
nations. Thus while the general system of surveys conforms to
that in the Chickasaw nation and in Oklahoma, the work has
been so planned as to make it independent of any errors which
may have accumulated in the earlier work.

Two parties have been engaged continuously since April last
in running standard lines (guide meridians and correction lines)
b}’ which the country is divided into blocks twenty-four miles
on a side. The township exteriors were run by distinct parties,
two parties being at first organized for this work, which were
subsequently increased to four. The subdivision of townships
into sections was carried on by still a third set of parties, eight
of which were organized and placed in the field during the month
of May, and the number was subsequently increased to sixteen.
Thus the entire work of subdividing the land is carried on by
three distinct sets of parties, the work of each checking that of
another.

Furthermore, a system of triangulation has been carried over
the area subdivided, and the stations in this triangulation have
been connected with section and township corners. This is done
not only for the purpose of checking and correcting errors, but
also to form reference points for the recovery of missing corners,

NAT. GEOG. MAG. VOL. VII, 1896, PL. XIII

INDIAN TERRITORY — CAMP OF A SURVEYING PARTY OF THE U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, 1895

SURVEY AND SUBDIVISION OF INDIAN TERRITORY 115

the triaiigulation points being marked in a very permanent man-
ner. The triangulation rests upon a base line measured on the
track of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas railway near Savanna,
and the astronomical position of this place was determined as
the initial position.

The subdivision parties, by which is to be understood the par-
ties engaged in running the section lines, are grouped, four of
them being in charge of an experienced surveyor connected with
the permanent corps of the United States Geological Survey, who
supervises the work closely and attends to the executive man-
agement of the outfit, and who, moreover, commonly with the
aid of an assistant, maps the topography of the area subdivided.
This latter duty is rendered light by the fact that the surveyor
in running the lines locates the points of crossing of every stream,
road, or other natural or artificial feature which he encounters
in the course of his line. Thus at intervals of a mile or less all
the features are located and little remains for the topographer to
do except to sketch these features between these points of
location.

The ])rogress made in this survey up to the end of January
of the present }'ear is set forth in a report which has been made
to the Secretary of the Interior. It appears from this that in
the primary triangulation 49 stations have been selected, signals
built uj)on them and angles measured from them. By means
of these stations an area of about 10,000 square miles, or aI)out
five-twelfths of the area of the Territory, excluding the Chicka-
saw nation, has been controlled. In the subdivison work 11,770
miles had been run out of an estimated amount of 47,000 miles
to complete the Territory, or about one-fourth of the entire
work. Of the above mileage 970 miles are of standard lines —
that is, standard parallels and correction lines; 1,790 miles are
exterior lines of townships, 8,770 miles are section lines, and
the remaining 240 miles are the meander lines of streams.
The work thus far done completes the subdivision of 128 full
townships and 20 fractional townships. It is included inainly
in the western part of the Choctaw nation, embraces all of the
Seminole country and some of the Creek country, while standard
lines have been run into the Cln'rokcc nation. The i>rogrc.ss is
represented upon the sketch map accompanying this paper.

The mapping of topography has followed closel}' after the
work of subdivision, and up t<> the date given above an ari?a of
4,2(X) square miles had been thus mapped.

“FREE BURGHS” IN THE UNITED STATES*

B}' Jamks H. Blodgett,

Late Special Agent of Census in Charge of Education

Three bridjies across the Potomac river connect the District of
Columbia witli the State of Virginia. Tlie upper one, known as
the Chain bridge, just below the Little falls, the head of tide-
water, is too far from dense population to be frequented by foot
passengers. Three miles below the Chain bridge is the Aqueduct
bridge, practically the head of navigation, since only small pleas-
ure boats and scows to bring stone from the quarries go above it.

Along the Virginia shore, above the Aqueduct bridge, are va-
rious “ resort houses,” more or less permanent, ostensibly for
legitimate relaxation and pleasure, but viewed with suspicion
by the authorities on both sides of the river, justified by results
of occasional raids by officials. At the Virginia end of the same
bridge is a straggling group of houses known as Rosly n, a favorite
place for those who want to go beyond the police restraints of
the District of Columbia, and particularly for those interested in
the gambling device known as policy, a sort of lottery, especially
attractive to the colored people.

Between the Aqueduct bridge and the Long bridge, two miles
or more farther down, at the upper extreme of dense habitation,
the low ground on the Virginia side is brushy, with but few
houses, and is a rambling ])lace for various kinds of boys and
men, Avho find the towpath of the abandoned canal a convenient
footway. The high lands contain the Government reservation,
comprising Fort Myer and the Arlington national cemetery.
Close to the Virginia end of the historic Long bridge are a few
houses known as Jackson City. Freedom from rigid police con-
trol has made this a convenient place for gambling in various
forms. Close by, known as Alexander’s island, is maintained,
irregularly, a race-course. Three miles farther is another race-
course, known as St. Asaph. A good part of the racing in sight

♦ This ai tide, written for The National GEOCRArHic Magazine, is less technical and
has less of legal citation and quotation of authorities than a paper bearing the same title
read before the Anthropological Society of Washington, November 5, 1895. The latter,
valuable for purposes of reference and verification, will be printed by the American
Historical Association.

IIG

“FREE BURGHS" IN THE UNITED STATES

117

of the Capitol has been that known as “ outlaAv racing ” — that
is, with horses or with jockeys not in good standing Avith the regu-
lar racing associations. Just below St. Asaph is the city of Alex-
andria, which is })opularly regarded as a part of Alexandria
county, to share whatever of good or l)ad repute attaches to it.

At the census of 1790 all this A’icinity Avas part of Fairfax
county, except that Alexandria already had a sc*i)arate court and
Avas exempt from county taxes. For the organization of the
Di.strict of Columbia, Virginia ceded to the General Government
the jurisdiction* over a tract l)ounded by tbe line extending ten
miles northAvest from the mouth of Hunting creek, a line north-
east from the terminus of the first, and the river, containing an
area said to be thirty-tAvo square miles. In 1801 Congress erected
the area ceded b}’- Virginia into a county, to be called Alexandria
county, but expressly retaining for Alexandria all existing char-
tered rights. In 1846 the United States re-ceded the tract to
Virginia, Avhich has continued to be generally knoAvn as Alex-
andria county, though the policy of separation of city and county,
suspended for half a century, has been reneAved. The combined
population of city and county in 1890 Avas 18,597, of Avhich 14,339
])ersons Avere in the city of Alexandria, Avhich is not a part of
Alexandria county, although its name, its vicinity, its recent
affinity with the county, and the presence of the county Imild-
ings t Avith most persons to make the residents municipally
responsible for the unlaAvful conduct near b}". Many persons,
while rejoicing in the measure of success attained, do not see Avhy
the energetic governor of Virginia sent officers to break u}) dis-
rejmtalde j)ractices in the county. They do not ai)preciate the
Aveakness of the real Alexandria county Avhen the gambling ele-
ments of the neighboring cities floAV out upon it. It has but a
little over 4,0W population (1890), of Avhom, after deducting 164
on the military reservation, over one-half (2,123) are of negro
descent, and not yet of much proi)rietary responsibility.

Alexandria is but an example of the cities of Virginia from the
earliest days. James City, better knoAvn as JamestoAvn, and now
extinct, was established as the chief city in 1639. W’illiamsburg
Avns set apart as a city, to l)c used for no other i>ur])Ose Avhatever,
aiul (hJined as the ca})ital in 16!)9, and again in 1705, in advance
<jf population. There Avas a general plan to put in each county

•The owncTHhlp remaiiioil in the existing proprietors. Certain autliors erroneously
state tliat tile title or possession was transferreil.
t A l)ill is iienilin^ for erection of county liuililiuKs outside of tlio city.

118

‘'FREE BURGHS” IN THE UNITED STATES

a similar town for commercial purposes, especially for warehous-
ing and marketing tobacco. Norfolk, chartered as a borough in
1737, has lost that name, but its relations to the county are to-
day like those of the original charter, gradually defined, strength-
ened, and confirmed, in points of dispute, in favor of the munici-
pality. At first the Norfolk county buildings were in Norfolk,
and a si)ecial clause in the charter reserved proprietary rights in
them to the county. Later legislation authorized their sale and
the erection of county l)uildings outside of Norfolk. The build-
ings are now in Portsmouth.

In 1776 many boroughs which had been given separate repre-
sentation in the assembly were cut off by a law which prescribed
that no borough with a population less, for seven successive
jmars, than half that of any county should be separately repre-
sented. In the same year the delegate for William and Mary
College, specified in its charter, was cut off.

In the state law for apportionment of members of Congress,
1892, the following names of cities are given separate from names
of counties: First district, Fredericksburg; second, Norfolk,
Portsmouth, and Williamsburg ; third, Richmond and Man-
chester; fourtii, Petersburg; filth, Danville and the town of
North Danville ; sixth, Lynchburg, Radford, and Roanoke ;
seventh, Charlottesville and Winchester ; eighth, Alexandria ;
ninth, Bristol ; tenth, Staunton. To these are to be added Buena
Vista, in the tenth district, chartered on the day of the approval
of the apportionment bill, and Newport News, for Avhich the bill
Avas signed January 18, 1896. The conditions for the town of
North Danville are in transition. It has been a toAvn inde-
pendent of Pittsylvania county, but judicially dependent on
Danville. The name has recently been changed to Neapolis,
and just too late for insertion here it Avill be determined by
popular vote whether it shall be consolidated with DaiiA'ille.*

In early days there was a disposition in certain other colonies
to establish cities independent of counties. In New Jersey and
in ^Maryland such early independencies as survived came under
county control. In Pennsylvania the claims of GermantoAvn to
independence ot the taxation of Philadelphia county Avere over-
ruled b}'^ the governor. In Virginia, from the incorporation of
James City (1639), it has been the steady policy to have the
cities independent of the counties. It confuses some students

* By popular vote, on February 20, Neapolis is to become a part of Danville on July
1, 189G.

FREE BURGHS” IH THE UNITED STATES

119

to find an occasional ]iarticipation of ui’ban residents and rural
residents in local affairs, but on examination of charters it will
be found that this extends onl}’- to subjects expressly named in
any instance.

If one will examine the scheme of government for the cit}*
and count}'- of St. Louis, Missouri (1876), he will find that all
power of county officers was abrogated. The same act restored
their power for the rural portion, now St. Louis county, leaving
the city to be provided with a separate government in the same
act. The situation in Virginia may be clearer if the legislature
is deemed to have abolished all county authority in any city
under consideration, and then to have I’estored by name such
items of power as circumstances demanded.

The present cities of Virginia have the following character-
istics :

The Code defines a city as a town having over 5,000 inhabitants
and a hustings court, and defines a town as an incorporated town
having less than 5,000 population.*

The cities have distinct courts. Their citizens do not pay
county taxes on city property. They do not serve on county
juries. Deeds and other papers affecting city property are re-
corded by city officers and not by county officers.

Generally, residents of cities do not participate in county elec-
tions. Exceptionally, they may hold county offices, more excep-
tionally, they may vote for county officers.

Generally, city police courts have jurisdiction one mile beyond
corporate limits. Exce]>tionally, there is a limited concurrent
jurisdiction of city and county courts, as over waters adjacent to
the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth and to Norfolk county.

Generally, the county and the city have each a set of public
buildings within their respective borders. Exceptionally, au-
thority is given to a county for buildings in a city, as when, at
the chartering of the city of Manchester, Chesterfield county was
authorized to continue to use its })ublic buildings therein till
other arrangements could be made. This authority sometimes
embraces arrangement for joint occupancy, as when Norfolk
county was authorized to arrange with the city of Portsmouth
for the location and construction of a jail.

Generally, a county odiccr may not serve writs in a city. Ex-
ceptionally, he can serve writs in the city on residents of bis

» Tho venerable city of WilliuinsburK has a smaller population, but its site is expressly
set apart for a city.

120

“FREE BURGHS” IX THE UNITED STATES

count}”, as witnesses may be summoned for Campbell count}’’ in
the city of Lynchburg.

Except for individually specified purposes, county and city
are as distinct as two counties.

The city of Newport News, Virginia, was organized January 20,
1896, under a charter naming officers to serve till July. The
charter contains the following paragraph :

“ 115. The city of Newport News, its real and personal prop-
erty and other subjects of taxation, and its inhabitants shall be
exemj)t from all assessments and levies in the way of taxes im-
])osed l)y the authorities of Warwick county for any purpose
whatever, except upon property owned in the said county by
the inhabitants of said city, from and after the first day of Jan-
uary, eighteen hundred and ninety-six, nor shall said inhabit-
ants 1)0 liable to serve upon juries or work upon roads in said
county except in such cases as are provided for by the laws of
the state.”

This extract states an exemption of residents in cities from
county taxes and from duty on county juries prevalent in the
state.

The ])resent fiicts regarding the cities of Virginia are little
known beyond the state. The Congressional Directory is con-
spicuous as a public document out of the state that shows the
cities separately. The Civil Service Commission has found it
necessary to recognize the certificate of an officer of a city court
of record for Baltimore, St. Louis, and the cities of Virginia where
a certificate from a county court was contemplated. A list of
cities in Virginia paying no county taxes occurs in the Report
of the Tenth Census (1880), volume 7, page 117.

Ordinarily, in this country, a city is part of a county ; it is
set apart that a dense population may establish new values and
impose new taxes to meet special demands for public welfare;
it continues to pay county taxes.

The difficulty of harmonious action by sparse and dense popu-
lations upon subjects common to them has led to exceptional
separation of cities from counties — Baltimore, Maryland, by suc-
cessive steps, culminating in 1823, and St. Louis, Missouri,
througli popular vote in 1876.

These two instances are exi)lained in the Johns Hopkins
University studies in liistorical and political science — Local In-
stitutions of ^Maryland, in volume 3, and City Government of.
St. Louis, in volume 5, the latter being most minute, and con-

“FREE BURGHS” IX THE EXITED STATES

121

stitiiting a monograph in itself, and yet the existence of cities
independent of county control and of county taxes is denied in
certain histories and works on civil government used in high
schools, colleges, and universities.

In many states the administration of the public schools is
largely through municipalities charged with that work and super-
imposed upon areas occupied by other municipalities charged
with other interests. There is a very general tendency to charter
school districts independent of the town in the north or of the
county at the south. In some states this method of enabling a
community to do what the larger unit of which it has been part
is not ready to do bids fair to increase. This form of legislation
is more common in the west and south than in the northeast.
The forms which these educational municipalities assume are
numerous, and the complications produced are often intricate.

I'he complications are probably most intricate in those states
formed of the public domain which have township organization,
a modified form of the town government of New England. It
will be most convenient to limit illustration to the organizations
which possess taxing powers, disregarding subdivisions made
simply for details of administration of a larger unit, like a vot-
ing ])recinct as a division of a county without taxing power.
National, state, and county taxes bear upon property-owners
throughout the country, with the exception of county taxes in St.
Louis, Baltimore, and cities of Virginia, as already explained.
The national taxes are so largely collected on goods in bulk before
their distribution that most consumers either d© not recognize
them or persuade themselves that somebody else pays them.

Below the county tax come the multitudes of variations. The
congre.ssional township of the land survey, six miles square, in
its simplest organization became a school township — a })lan en-
couraged by the grant to the state of a section or of two sections
or square miles in a townshi|) for school purposes. This school
corporation is often subdivided into districts, each with its ta.x-
ing })Ower. There are instances of superimposed incorporation
of the town as a high-school district with taxing power, 'rnrn-
ing from school administration, we find the same area made a
civil townsliip, with care of roads, the poor, and other subjects.
V'ithin this tf)wnship may grow up a compact body of po])ula-
tion to be chartered as a village, a town, or a (dty, according to
circumstances, with taxing ])ower for police and other purposes.
In some instances, like Springfield, Illinois, these units will as-

122

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY:

sume the charge of schools ; in others, like Aurora, Illinois, the
cit}' does not administer the schools, which remain under the
districts into which the school township was divided.

A citizen may therefore find himself under three sets of taxes
for schools — the township and the district for common schools
and the high school township for its specialty. He may have in
addition the civil township tax and the corporation tax. When
the school district is given a charter making it independent of
its town, the succession of taxes is modified. A volume would
hardly suffice to instance all the variations and combinations of
duties of the taxpayer in different states, or even in different
j)arts of the same state, growing out of the separately chartered
taxing powers and their limited independencies.

The cities of Washington, D. C., which has practicalh’^ absorbed
Washington county and become identified with the District of
Columbia; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ; New York; Brooklyn
(.January 1, 189b), New York ; New Orleans, Louisiana, coexten-
sive with Philadelphia, New York, and Kings counties and
Orleans parish respectively, but continuing to exercise some func-
tions of counties, and San Francisco, California, identical with
San Francisco county, represent simply a growth by which cities
have filled county boundaries, and not an independence of
counties.

GEOGRAPHIC LITERATURE

The receipt at a somewhat late hour of two important articles published
in this numher of the magazine has necessitated the holding over until
April of the entire Department of Geographic Literature.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
SOCIETY, SESSION iSqs-’qG.

Special Meeting, January 31, 1896. — Vice-President Greely in the chair.
Mr Richard Villafranca, Commissioner General from Costa Rica to the
Atlanta Exposition, read a paper, with lantern-slide illustrations, on
The Geography, People, and Resources of Costa Rica.

Regular Meeting, February 7, Vice-President ^Merriam in the chair.

Mr W J McGee delivered an address, illustrated by lantern slides
(mo.stly from original photographs), entitled “A Sojourn in Seriland:
Explorations among Hostile Savages of the Gulf of California.”

ITS PROCEEDINGS

123

Special Meeting, February 14, 1896. — President Hubbard in the chair.
Commander Z. L. Tanner, United States Navy, described his cruise in
command of the United States Fish Commission steamer Albatross
from the north Atlantic to the north Pacific, via the strait of Magellan
and the Galapagos islands. Practical details of the scientific work and
views of the various ports visited were given by means of lantern-slide
illustrations.

Regular Meeting, February SI, 1896. — President Hubbard in the chair.
Hon. George C. Perkins, United States Senator, read a paper, illustrated
by lantern slides, on California : her Geography, Scenery, and Resources.

FIlectioxs. — New members have been elected as follows : -

February 3. — John M. Comstock, Dr F. P. Dewey, Herbert Forsyth,
Capt. D. D. Gaillard, U. S. A., Edward M. Kindle, Gen. Nelson A. Miles,
U. S. A., R. A. Pearson, W. S. Post, W. P. Robinson, Wm. A. Taylor,
Col. W. B. Thompson, Thos. L. Watson, Hon. Andrew D. White.

February 14- — Dr J. O. Adams, W. H. Baldwin, Jr., Miss Amy M.
Bradley, Levi J. Bryant, Mrs 31. L. Byington, 3Irs J. A. Campbell, Col.
H. W. Closson, U. S. A., J. Ashley Cooi^er, Gen. W. P. Craighill, U. S. A.,
Claas Denekas, Pay In.spector L. A. Frailey, U. S. N., Chief Justice
3Ielville W. Fuller, Col. D. S. Gordon, U. S. A., Dr Ida J. Heiberger,
F. J. Heiberger, James G. Jester, Lieut. W. Lacy Kenly, U. S. A., 3Irs
W. H. Kerr, T. A. Lambert, James B. Lambie, Noble D. Lamer, Daniel
3V. Lord, Wm. G. Lown, Samuel 3Iaddox, Chas. Addison 3Iann, Jr.,
Edward J. 3IcQuade, Hon. John L. 3Iitchell, U. S. S., W. Henderson
3IoseS, Owen Owen, A. S. Perhain, August Peterson, Dr Chas. V. Petteys,
Robert A. Phillips, 3Ir J. B. Pioda (Swiss 3Iinister), Rev. Philip 31.
Prescott, J. 31. Rieman, John 3V. Saville, Thos. 3V. Smith, Capt. J. A.
Snyder, U. S. A., W. E. Speir, Pearce Thompson, Capt. R. 3"ance, U. S. A.,
W. H. Veerhoff', Dr John E. 3Valsh, John Sidney Webb, Oscar W. 3Vhite,
Ernest 3Vilkin.son.

OiuTu.vitY. — General John Gibl)on, a distinguished officer and gallant
soldier, died in Baltimore February 6. Graduating at the United States
3Iilitary Academy in 1847, he rose to he a brigadier-general in the regular
Army and a major-general of Volunteers. Alike against the Seniinoles in
Florida and the Nez Perces and Siou.x in the northwest, in the 3Iexican
war and in the war for the Union, he served with conspicuous gallantry,
winning distinction whether he was in command of a regiment, a brigade,
a division, or an army corps. The most desi)erate battles of the army of
the Potomac found him at the front, and he was severely wounded both at
Fredericksburg and Gettysburg. .\s a man, General (Jibbon was greatly
respected, ami The Natinnal (ieographic Society deplores in his death
the lo.ss of a valuable nieniber, who in the course of 45 years of active
service had gaineil a jiractieal knowledge of the geography of the United
States such as few men have the opportunity of ac«iuiring.

124

MISCELLANEA

No one unacquainted with Professor W. H. Dali’s earlier work as an
explorer would imagine from the reading of his modest article on pages
110 and 111 that he himself bore an important and honorable part in one
of the expeditions to which he refers. To all, however, except the younger
generation, this fact is well known, as is the further fact that Professor
Dali’s continued exjilorations and researches in Alaska and the North
Pacific ocean for the long period of 80 years have led to his recognition
as one of the best informed men of the time on all matters relating to that
most interesting and increasingly important section of the globe. After the
abandonment of the overland telegraph project in 1867, Mr Dali remained
for some time in Russian America, witnessing its transformation into
Alaska as the result of its purchase by the United States. On his return,
he I'aiblished numerous articles of great scientific value, and in 1870 ajj-
peared his well known work on Alaska and its Resources. As an assistant
in the U. S. Coast Survey from 1871 to 1874, he devoted himself largely
to Alaskan studies, making repeated visits to the far north and publish-
ing from time to time the results of his investigations concerning it. In
1884 he joined the U. S. Geological Survey, of which he has since re-
mained an otiicer. He is also closely identified with the Smithsonian
Institution, of which he is an honorary curator.

The proi)Osal to establish a permanent directorship-in-chief of scientific
bureaus and investigations in the Dei)artment of Agriculture, to give
coordination and continuity to the many-sided scientific work of the De-
l)artment and to complete the good work done by the present Secretary
in protecting the scientific force from the onslaught of the political spoils-
man, has excited great interest in the scientific world and called forth a
very notable expression of favorable opinion from a large number of emi-
nent scientists and scientific educators. Within a brief period — in fact,
since February 18, President Gilman and the faculty of Johns Hopkins,
President Dwight and the scientific faculty of Yale, President Soliurman
of Cornell, President Low of Columbia, President Adams of Wisconsin,
President Francis A. Walker of the Boston Institute of Technology, Dr
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A preliminary announcement of the Mexican census of 1895 gives a
total pojnilation of 12,542,057, as against 9,908,011 at the census of 1879,
and 11,632,924 as officially estimated in 1889. The ijopulation of the
princii)al cities is said to be as follows : Cit}" of Mexico, 339,935 ; Puebla,
91,917 ; Guadalajara, 83,870; San Luis Potosi, 69,676; Monterey, 56,835;
IMerida, 56,702; Pachuca, 52,188; Durango, 42,166, and Zacatecas, 40,026.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE

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dr. Marcus Baker, U. S. Geological Survey.

2apt. John R. Bartlett, U. S. N.

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dr. E. L- Corthell, C. E., New York.

Dr. Elliott Coues.

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Dr. Charles W. Dabney, Jr., Assistant Secre-
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Dr. Will. H. Dali, Smithsonian Institution,
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Mr. Wm. M. Davis, Professor of Pli3’sical Geog-
raplij- in Harvard University.

Dr. David T. Day, Chief of the Div. of Mining
Stati.stics and Technology, U. S- Geol. Sur.

Mr. J. S. Diller, U. S. Geological Survey’.

H«m. John W. I'oster, ex-.Secretary of State.

Mr. Heur}’ Gannett, Chief Topographer, U. S.
Geol. Sur. and Geographer of i ith Census.

Mr. (j. K. Gilbert, U. S. Geological Survey,
Pres, of the Geol. Society of Washington.

Dc*n. A. W. Greely, U. S. A., Chief Signal
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lion. Gardiner G. Hubbard, President of the
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Dr Mark \V. Harrington, President of the Uni-
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Mr. Wm. H. Holmes, Dir. of the Dept, of .An-
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Dr. Ihnil Holub, Vienna, Austria.

Dr. Slieldon Jaek.soii, U. S. Commissioner of
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Mr. George Keiinan.

Prof. William Dibbey, Jr., Princeton Coll., N. J.

Prof. W J McGee, Bureau of American Eth-
nology.

Mr. John E. McGrath, U. S. Coast Survey.

Admiral R. W. Meade, U. S. N.

Dr. T. C. Mendenhall, President of the Poly-
technic Institute, Worcester, Mass.

Dr. C. Hart Merriam, Ornithologist and Mani-
malogist, U. S. Department of Agriculture.

Hon. John H. Mitchell, U. S. ,S.

Prof. W. L- Moore, Chief of Weather Bureau.

Mr. F'rederick H. Newell, Chief Hydrographer
of the U. S. Geological Survey.

Mr. Herbert G. Ogden, U. S. Coast Survey.

Lieut. Robert E- Peary, U. S. N.

Mrs. Robert E. Peary.

Hon. Geo. C. Perkins, U. S. S.

Mr. William H. Pickering, Profe.ssorof Astron-
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IMajor John W. Powell, Director of the Bureau
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Prof. W. B. Powell, vSuperintendent ot Schools,
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Hon. John R. Procter, President of the U. S.
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IMr. Israel C. Russell, Professor of Geology in
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Dr. N. S. vShaler, Professor of Geology in Har-
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Commander Charles D. Sig.sbee, Hydrographer
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Miss Eliza Ruhaniah Scidmore.

Commander Z. L- Tanner, U. S. N.

IMr. I'rank Vincent, New A”ork.

Hon. Charles D. Walcott, Director of the U. S.
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Mrs. I'annie B. Ward.

Mr. Bailey Willis, U. S. Geological Survey.

PRINCIPAL CONTENTS OF RECENT NUMBERS.

JANUARY. — Rus.sia in Europe, with maj), Hon. Gardiner G. Iliibb.ird ; The .Arctic Cruise
of the U. S. Revenue Cutter “Bear,” with illustrations. Dr. Sheldon Jackson; The
Scope and Value of .Ar<'ti<‘ hixploration, Gen. A. W. Greely.

FEBRUARY. Venezuela: Her ( lovernment, People, and Boundary, with maj) and illustra-
tion:', William E. Curtis ; 'fhe Panama Canal Route, with illustrations. Prof. Robert 'f.
Hill; 'J'he Tehuantepec Shi]) Railway, with ma])S, E. L- Corthell, C. Iv., LL. D. ; 'I’he
Presimt Slate of the Nicaragu.i Canal, Gen. .\. W. Greely ; Ex])lorations by the Bureau
of American Ethnology, W J McCree.

This number contains a map of the valley of the Orinoco, showing the extent
of territory drained by that waterway and the bearing it has on the Venezuelan
question, specially compiled for THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE
jy T. Heyward Gignilliat. of the U. S. War Department.

25 Cents per Number or $2.50 per Year.

THE APRIL NUMBER

will contain several important, illustrated
articles relating to

THE PACIFIC SLOPE,

- TOGETHER WITH A ^

MAP OF SERILAND,^*^

including TIBURON ISLAND, based upon*
recent geographic explorations and surveys;

ALSO A MAP OF

THE OLYMPIC COUNTRY

and new determinations of the elevation of

several of the

Principal Peaks of the Cascade Range.

JUDD & DETWEILER, PRINTERS, WASHINGTON. D. C.

VII

AP^iL, 1896

No. 4

ir?v

AN I

A. W. GREBIli'Zl.

Honorary Editor : JO

Honorary Associate
— W - J IVTcTTBE H

SCIDMORE

CONTENTS

PAGE

3ERILAND W J McGEE AND WILLARD D. JOHNSON 125

With map and illustration.

rHE OLYMPIC COUNTRY. With map. THE LATE S. C. GiLMAN 133

THE DISCOVERY OF GLACIER BAY. ALASKA

With map and illustration. ELIZA RUHAMAH SCIDMORE 140

HYDROGRAPHY IN THE UNITED STATES. FREDERICK H. NEWELL 146
RECENT TRIANGULATION IN THE CASCADES. S. S. GANNETT 150

THE altitude OF MOUNT ADAMS, WASHINGTON.

EDGAR McCLURB 151

Geographic Literature, p. 153 ; Proceedings of The National Geographic Society,
p. 155; Miscellanea, p. 156.

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W. D. Johnson, Topograplier

SERI

Isla
San Esteban

SONOR

From survey's Bureau Arne
(Coctst-line m.a.inl.y ft'om
Scale: 7

VOL. VII. 1896, PL. XIV

Pun t A \^nac io

Isla Tahsrie

Puntar K!ino

\XI)

\V J McGee, Kthnoln^ist in ('liarjr^

:xico

■Othriology F,xppdilioT\,1895

yfti'oyr'riphAi' SijLTVk^ys)

o I inch

GEOO mag

J[2^^^-lB96,PL.XrV

THE

Yol. VII APRIL, T896 No. 4

SERILAND

By \V J McGee arid Willard D. Johnson

After tliree weeks of seasoning in the saddle, we pushed through
the water-gap trenching the chief range of central Sonora and
descended the sand-wash (commonly dry, locally wet) for a hard
day to the adobe hamlet of Bacuache, and next morning one of
us climbed a near-by butte to make a planetable station and inci-
dentally to realize the peculiar isolation of the long-promised
land of the Seri Indians, still fifty miles away. On the same
afternoon of November 29, 1895, we left sand-wash for butte-
dotted plain in time to see the setting sun shadow a jagged
mountain crest far out on the broad barrier desert; and the grim
fatherland of a fierce tribe, the terror of explorers since Coronado,
the dread of Sonora today, tlie nightmare of the few local set-
tlers, the cynosure of all eyes of the party, was spontaneously, and
so uncon.sciously that no one could remember the sponsor, chris-
tened Seriland. Later, in traversing the hard desert and climb-
ing the rugged Sierra Seri, and about the guarded camj) lire on
Isla Tihuron, alternative names for the territory were sought and
temporarily used, hut they soon slijiped away, while the simple
appellation clung.

So Seriland was named, and for present purposes, at least, the
informal christening may he made formal.

The little party of the Bureau of American Ethnology pushed
on from Ifacuache, making stations by the way, to Rancho San
Francisco de Costa Rica, wheri; they were met hy the owner,
Senor I’ascual Encinas, the now aged hut always intrepid Seri

12G

SERILAND

figliter, with his good wife Doha Anita. There a small party was
organized and a little boat was built, and the surveys were jmshed
into and eventually over the barrier desert and harsh mountains
of Seriland, both continental and insular. The story of the work
is not without interest, but must he left for other pages.

The instrumental outfit comprised a planetable with compass
and alidade, but no means of h3"psometric determination. The
planetable triangulation was carried from the international
boundaiy, and the scale is fixed by the boundary work in con-
junction with the coastwise positions determined by the United
States Hydrographic surveys of the Narragamett in 1873-75.
From Tihuron the surve.v Avas carried eastward beyond Hermo-
sillo, and from this line the survejmd zone contracts somewhat
northward to the boundaiy. The area covered is about 10,000
square miles; 47 stations were occupied for control, and a con-
siderabl.y larger number of additional jioints for sketching. The
acconqianying map of Seriland represents only the extreme
southwestern portion of the area surveyed ; ivithin it 16 stations
(including the culminating point in Sierra Seri) Avere occupied
for control as Avell as for sketching. It should be noted that both
control and sketching are hardly Avhat might be desired on the
Avestern slojies of Tihuron island.

The district including Seriland may' be likened unto a great
roof-slojie stretching from a lofty^ comb in the Sierra Madre to
and under the gulf of California as into a huge eaves-trough ;
but the slope is diversified and the eaves-line interrupted b.y
outlying ranges and buttes. The most aberrant part of roof-
slojie and eaves-line is Seriland; hirhere the outl.ying ranges are
of exceptional magnitude and rise even beyond the general
coastline to form the largest island in the gulf. In general the
outline of the coast Avould not be greatly changed, but only
shifted somewhat inland or offAvard, if the sloping plain of Sonora
Avere to sink or rise a few hundred feet ; but if Seriland Avere
lifted only a hundred feet its strait Avould be drained and Tiburon
island Avould join the continent, Avhile if it Avere depressed tAvo
or three hundred feet the entire province Avould become Iavo
great islands, and even if Sonora Avere sunk 3,000 feet or more
Seriland Avould persist as an archipelago far in the offing. Thus
the land of the Seri stands forth conspicuously on the broad
continental slope by reason of exceptional altitude.

Most of the vapor of the Pacific boats over the sun-parched
plains and loAver mountains along the coast and rolls far up the

,'SEIULAND

. 127

slope toward the Sierra Madre before it is condensed, and thus
the region is arid. Streams rise in the high Sierra indeed, espe-
cially during the midwinter and midsummer rainy seasons, and
rush down the strong slope toward the gulf in roaring torrents ;
but so diy are air and sand that even the largest floods are ab-
sorbed well up the incline — and between mountain-born Colo-
rado and sierra-fed Yaki, 500 miles apart, no river ever reaches
the sea. The precipitation is greater on the outlying ranges,
es})ecially the lofty masses of Seriland,than over the intervening
plains ; yet everywhere tlie rainfall is so slight that the region is
semidesert, with broad belts of Saharan sands between the coast-
ward ranges. The local configuration about Seriland appears to
favor local winds (rising into nearly continuous gales during De-
ceml)er, 1895), and the unstable air brings forth fogs which feed
the flora of coast and foothills ; but little moisture in rain, dew,
or fog ever reaches that broadest of the desert plains of western
Sonora, the natural boundary of Seriland, Desierto Encinas. So
the aboriginal principality of Seriland is set apart, isolated, prac-
tically insulated so far as life is concerned, hy a natural barrier.
It is to this natural isolation, as well as to the ferocity of the
natives, that the checking of exploration and evangelization at
the Seri frontier is to be ascribed ; yet at the same time the char-
acteristics of the savages are in a measure due to their isolation
(as shown elsewhere), and thus natural condition and artificial
custom have cooperated cumulatively through the centuries to
])revent earlier study of the stanch little dominion of the Seri.

The toi)Ography of Seriland is striking by reason of the rugged-
ness of tlie ranges which rise steeply from great apron-like ex-
]tanses of foot-slope or plain. The abrupt transition from jagged
cliffs above to smooth ])lains below conveys irresistibly the
impression that the mountains are buried to their ears in vast
torrential deposits which line the intervening valleys to profound
depths ; and the geologist is surprised and distrustful of observa-
tion until many times repeated when he finds that the intermon-
tane expanses are simi)ly ])laned rock strata with a scant veneer
of torrent-spread alluvium. This tojiographic paradox, of which
the wh(fie of Seriland and much of adjacent Pa))agueria form a
great example, is well illustrated in a section exposed in the shore
between Puerta Iidiermj and Punta Ygnacio. .A (piarter of this
15-mile e.xposure is the current-built point, another (piarter cuts
butte or range of igneous rock or ancient granite, while the remain-
ing half traverses typical intermontane plain in clilfs of 20 to 50

128

SEEILAND

feet, and fully 5 out of the 7 J miles of the low eliff reveal the sub-
stratum of planed granite beneath a torrential veneer, while there
is more of alluvium-free granite than of graniteless alluvium.
The sharp contrast between mountain and plain is doubtless due
to the character of the scant rainfall; but the relation need not
he further pursued at present. Hardly less striking than this
general topographic relation are the strong local features of the
topography. Tiburon island is but 30 miles long and less than
20 wide, yet it contains several ranges, the dominant one (Sierra
Kunkaak) of Alpine ruggedness throughout most of its 4,000 feet
of altitude. Sierra Seri is an imposing assemblage of peaks,
aretes, precipices, and profound gorges, cutting the azure at fully
5,000 feet, though the width of the range from strait to desert is
but 10 miles. Even more impressive than the mountains, to the
explorer on the ground, is Desierto Encinas — the broad waste of
playas and sand dunes lying over against the Papago of old, the
law-bound Sonora of today. Toward its broad basin-shape ex-
panse storm freshets flow apparently from all directions, yet it
is never filled and rarely wetted, and the scant water sometimes
rising to the surface on its steeper western slope is saline ; it is
partly barred from the gulf and lined in its lower levels by a
sheet of sediment charged with recent marine shells, which show
that at no remote day it was an arm of the sea. Of interest, too,
is the gale-swept strait El Infiernillo, for the foot-slo})es on island
and mainland are just such as sweep down and merge between
the parallel ranges of the interior, and extend nearly or quite to
the coastline where they are cut by wave-carved cliffs or pass
into current-built sand-spits, making 'it manifest that the strait
was original!}^ a subaerial valley like those of the interior and
onl}" recently occupied and slightly modified by the sea. Isla
Tassne, too, is a noteworthy feature ; though but a fraction of a
mile in any dimension and for the most part a wave-built bench,
its nucleus is a 500-foot spire of rock, the half-submerged crest
of a twinned peak, on which myriads of water fowl nest. The
topographic detail of Seriland is that of water-carving or water-
building, yet the aridity is such that the work must proceed
at infinitesimal rate. The dearth of water is a burning ques-
tion to the explorer, a vital element in prospective conquest of
Seriland for the behoof of civilized man. In all the half dozen
valle3''S, the hundred barrancas, and the thousand storm-cut
gorges, there are probably less than a dozen nominally perma-
nent, and but two or three actually permanent, sources of fresh
water in the territory.

VOL. VII, 1896, PL. XV.

ICxpedition boat Anita at anchor.

SERILAND

129

The geolog}^ of Seriland is worthy of study. The prevailing
rocks of the principal ranges are rather ancient (probably Meso-
zoic or early Tertiary) lava sheets with associated tuff's and brec-
cias, while in several localities, notably the western foot-slopes of
Sierra Seri, there are large areas of still more ancient granite,
often slightly schistose and intersected with dikes and veins. It
is tlie current belief in Sonora (a belief based partly on the use
of rare minerals as face-paint among the Seri) that rich deposits
of ores and precious metals exist in Seriland, and certain por-
tions of the area examined certainly appear worth prospecting ;
but no rich deposits were found, and most of the rocks examined
are unpromising. The dominant geologic feature of the territory
is that reflected in the topography — the abrupt transition from
rugged mountain to smooth peneplain of similar rocks with a
veneer of fragmental debris. Generally this debris is unconsoli-
dated and fresh-looking, though sometimes it is cemented by
siliceous or ferruginous matter, and toward the eastern side of
Desierto Encinas even the superficial portions of the alluvium
are somewhat indurated, as if by calcareous infiltration, into a
mass known as caliche in western Mexico (the tepitate of eastern
INIexico). No deposits postdating the extravasation of the lavas
and the outlining of the mountain ranges were seen save the
shell-charged sands of Encinas desert; these deposits and the
shelf skirting Tassne island on north and east suggest relatively
recent uplifting, while the configuration of shores, especially in
Estrecho Infiernillo, demonstrates relatively recent subsidence,
so that to one of us, at least, the combined records indicate local
warping. To some extent in Seriland, as decidedly in contigu-
ous Papagueria, the divides are migrating northeastwardly, and
this widesi)read characteristic suggests a relatively recent tilting
of the land southwestward, whereby the feeble streams- flowing
with the increasing sloi)e are stimulated while those flowing
against it are paralyzed.

The meager flora of Seriland is peculiar. The conspicuous
forms are cacti, comprising the monstrous saguesa (a Cereus
related to f/Ujaideas but still larger) and wide-branching pita-
liaya (Cereus Ihurheri) on the foot-slopes, with the cina (Cereus
sehoUil) and cholla (a cylindropuntia) at lower levels and the
water-bearing bisnaga ( Kchinocarlus) here and there on thenniin-
land, though few and far between on the island. The ghostly
okatillo (/'ba7/n>m .s/>/(j/tdr/ix) is fairly abundant, and there are
occasional yuccas and a variety of the more slender agaves. The

130

SERI LAND

prevailing trees, which are usually little more than shrubs, are
mesquite, catclaw (^Acacia greggii), and paloverde {Parkinsonia
microphglla) on plain and foothill, and paloblanca, torote, and
torotito among the mountains ; the prevailing shrub is the creo-
sote bush (Larrea tridentnta), with a variety of small mimosas
and other brambles, all scrubby and all beset with thorns or en-
dowed with foul flavors and odors ; and about' the few perma-
nent waters there are patches of bamboo-like reeds, which are
used l)y the Seri in making balsas and sometimes in building-
bowers for hal)itation. It is not too much to say that there is no
soil in Seriland, for the scant moisture and slow-growing plants
do not produce humus; and the gray or ashen earth between
the scattered plant-colonies glares starkly in the glowing sun-
light, inflaming the eyes of the traveler as in snow-blindness.
Two general features of the vegetal life of the region may l)e
noted : Partly by reason of the absence of humus, the superficial
deposits are comminuted mechanically but imperfectly reduced
chemically, so that the}^ vaiy from place to place with the varia-
tion in rocks and quantity .of water, and thereb}^ tend to produce
local floras, or a provincial habit of the general flora ; while it
results from the dearth of water anti strength of sun that the
plants strive against the inorganic environment rather than
against each other for continued existence, and are thereby
brought into a curious cooi)eration, whereby nearly all plants
(and animate organisms as well) gather into colonies for mutual
support. These relations, thougli highly significant and attract-
ive, need not be pursued here; it suffices to say that they pro-
foundly affect the flora which, as even a casual traveler cannot
fail to note, varies notably from place to place, and is generally
gathered in close-set tufts or bunches, with broad bare spaces
between-. The flora on island and mainland is essentially the
same ; and the coasts, insular and continental, are skirted with
a zone of i)ulpy-leaved shrubs and bushes apparently watered
by fogs.

The fauna of Seriland includes the bighorn and bura (a large,
sluggish deer) in the mountains, the antelope, peccary, and black-
tail deer on tlie plains, with the jackrabbit and coyote every-
where ; the jaguar is reputed common and the puma rarer — the
assemblage of large game animals being rich enough to tempt
the sportsman. The turkey is said to haunt the saguesa forests
and the California quail may be seen hourly, and small birds are
surprisingly numerous, while hawks, eagles, and burrowing owls

S ERIE AND

131

abound. The rattlesnake, scor[)ion, centipede, and tarantula
furnish spice for the fare of the traveler, while rainbow-hned
swifts and somber, slow-moving lizards of alleged poisonous bite
harbor numerously in the scattered plant colonies. Ground-
squirrels and kangaroo-rats are common. On some ])ortions of
the island the squirrels abound exceedingl}^ so that the land is
laid out in hexagons by their surface trails, while each third or
fifth footfall of the pedestrian stops half knee-deep in subsurface
burrows. There are ants galore, and myriads of black bugs that
apparently fertilize the cacti, but mosquitoes, gnats, and other
])ernicious insects are apparently unknown. The cooperation of
the vegetation extends unto the animate life of plain and moun-
tain to the extent that all living things dwell together in singu-
larl}’’ perfect harmony ; but this feature of the life may be passed
over. Along the coast the green turtle abounds and forms the
chief fare of the Indians, and his shells shingle the more perma-
nent house-bowers. Fish and crustaceans swarm, edible crabs
and oysters and superb lobsters await gathering, and clams
sprinkle the coastwise mud flats. The gray pelican breeds on
Isla Tassne — the first-formed land of earth as built by the Ancient
of Pelicans, in Seri myth, — and his flesh feeds, while his feathered
skins clothe, the ever-warring holders of Seriland; and other
water-fowl, from swan to snipe and from cormorant to curlew,
chatter and scream and croak about the rocky islets and si)urs,
especially on the fowls’ paradise of Isla Tassne. The seal crec))s
up on the rocks now and then, the shark scavengers the sea as
the coyote the land, and the skeleton of a whale fully 80 feet
long on the shores of Tiburon records a famous feast of the Seri
when for weeks they found no need for hunting and fishing and
for months gnawed gradually softening tendon and cartilage.
'I'he subdesert fauna of Seriland is meager and peculiar, but the
maritime fauna of the coasts is rich and varied.

The fierce holders of desert-bouml Seriland have ]>rotected
their inheritance from time immemorial, and since the time of
Coronado have written their history in blood. Throe of their
many interesting characteristics are especially notable : 'riiey are
isolated in language, belief, custom, and sympathy as in habitat;
they are dominated 1)V a moral law under which intermarriage
with other [)eoples is ca[)ital crime and under which they attain
righteou.mess by slaying humans of alien blood with only greater
avidity than beasts are slain, always save when dctemal by f(>ar ;
and they are of a stature, strength, and endurance befitting their
hard and eventful lives.

132

SERILAXD

The coast of Seriland has been surveyed, and long ago a pearl
fishery was maintained for a time on its borders near Punta
Tej)opa. Tliere is a tradition that Sergeant Escalante (he who
later swam the C4ila and saw Casa Grande) ivandered into the
bounding desert in the seventeenth century, and dug a shallow
well which still }nelds a yellow nitrous water and is known some-
times as Poso Escalante, sometimes as Agua Amarillo ; and there
are vague rumors of prospectors and other ])arties landing on
island and mainland, but soon retreating ivith loss of life from
])oisoned arrow or still more poignant thirst. It is known, too,
from living witnesses that Sr Pascual Encinas pushed stock-
raising well toward the desert and sometimes even across it to
the saline waters at the eastern base of Sierra Seri, the Indians
contenting themselves with a heavy im])Ost of surreptitiously
slaughtered stock, and that he twice or oftener visited Tihuron^
once with a small party for a few hours, once with a larger party^
including horses transported by a .steam vessel, for two or three
days; hut until 189o (when Encinas’ trustiest assistants were
added to our party and taken far beyond their })revious knowl-
edge) the interior, continental and insular, was never surveyed,
most of it never seen by white men.

The previou-sly publi.shed nomenclature is ado[)ted so far as it
goes, together with a part of the unpublished field nomenclature
of the Hydrographic Office, save for a few tritling exceptions
mostly made with the object of expressing the generic elements
in the language of Mexico (articles being omitted for brevity)-
So far as practicable the s))ecific elements, especially on the
insular tract, are Seri, the accents being indicated here but not
on the map. It has been sought to use names originally con-
notive yet of such character as readily to become denotive, due
regard l)eing given to euphony and brevity — qualities not easily
found among the simple-minded savages. The names a])])lied
are as follows, those marked bv asterisks being new and those
marked by obelisks being recast :

* Seriland: Extra- vernacular name of tribe with English locative.

Mar de Cortez (Sea of Cortez = Gulf of California) : Customary Spanish
designation.

tIslaTiburon (Shark island): Spanish.

t Isla San Esteban (Saint Stephen island) : Spanish.

t Isla Tas5s'ne (Pelican island) : Specific Seri (sometimes called Alcatraz
— Pelican in Spanish).

Estrecho [or El] Intiernillo (Hellish strait) : Spanish.

THE OLYMPIC COUNTRY

133

t Puerta Iiifierno (Infernal gate) : Spanish.

t Punta Tepopa (Tepopa point) : Generic Spanish, specific of long stand-
ing.

* Punta Ygnacio (Ygnacio point) : Specific in honor of Ygnacio Lozania,
a trusty aid who had previously visited this point.

* Punta Mashein' (Mashem^ point) : Specific in honor of sub-chief Ma-
shein' (sometimes called Francisco Estorga), who speaks Spanish and
acted as interi)reter in 1894.

t Punta Kino (Kino point) : Specific (of long standing) in honor of the
early missionary.

* Sierra Seri (Seri range) : Generic Spanish, specific the extra- vernacu-
lar tribe name.

* Sierra Kunkaak' (Kunkaak' range) : Specific the vernacular tribe
name.

*Cerros Anacoreta (Anchorite hills) : Spanish.

* Disierto Encinas (Encinas desert) : Generic Spanish, specific in honor
of the intrepid settler on the outskirts of the desert.

Poso Escalante (Escalante well) : Generic Spanish, specific in honor of
the early explorer.

Rancho San Francisco de Costa Rica: Spanish (elements transposed on
map through error).

Rancho Santa Ana : Spanish.

Rancho Libertad: Spanish (now abandoned).

Rio Sonora : Spanish.

Rio Bacuache.

THE OLYMPIC COUNTRY
By the late S. C. Gilman, C. E.

[The following v.'ilnaV)le article is based largely on the explorations of the writer
in the comparatively unknown region he describes. A melancholy interest attaches
to it, .Mr Gilman having been suddenly cut off, at the early age of thirty-six and in the
midst of an increasingly useful and promising career, only a few days after the trans-
mission of the article for publication and before he could be made aware of its ac-
ceptance.]

The Ol3MHpic ])eninsula, in northwestern Washington, forms
tlie e.xtrenie nortlnvcst corner of tlie United Sttites proper. It
lies west of Puget sound, Admiralty inlet, and Hood’s canal,
commonly spoken of collectively as Puget sound, and t'xtends
over 1)0 miles along the south side of the straits of Juan de Fuca.
Its west coast borders for 100 miles on the Paeilic ocean, while
firay’s harbor and the Chehalis river furnish deep-water naviga-
tion for .‘>0 miles tilong its southern border, leaving only a nock
of 25 miles in width connecting its southeastern part with the
mainland.

VOL. VII, 1896, PL.

i-g \ \ \ , 1 ^ \ . nN.-^ y, _

HE topography of THE MOUNTAINOUS REGION OCCUPYING THE CENTRAL pORTlOf^ OF THI.S MAP IS BASED ON TWc cvn,

WHOSE ARTICLE, ‘'THE OLYMPIC COUNTRY,., appears IN Tnfs NUMbIr. «•

GILMAN, C. E.,

THE OLYMPIC COUNTRY

l.'U

As the northern, eastern, and southern sides of the peninsula,
bordering on Fuca straits, Puget sound, and the Chehalis river
and Gray’s harbor, are j)artially settled and comparatively well
known for six to ten miles back from those waters, this article
will have reference almost exclusively to the interior and western
portions of the peninsula. The whole peninsula contains an area
of about 5,700 square miles, of which protiably 3,000 square miles
arc occupied by the Olympic mountains, from which the j^enin-
sula takes its name.

The main watershed of these mountains begins at cape Flat-
tery and extends southeasterly almost parallel with the straits
and about 12 miles therefrom until nearly south of Port Angeles,
where an abrupt turn to the south is made for about 6 miles,
})assing by the east end of mount 0l3uupus; thence southeast 20
miles to Pj’ramid peak; thence southwest and gradually swing-
ing to the west for 30 miles to mount Frances at the head of
Quinault lake; thence southwest for about 18 miles, rapidly de-
creasing in height until it reaches its termination. Such is the
general course of the divide between the waters flowing west-
ward to the Pacific ocean and those flowing to the north, east, and
south into Fuca straits, Puget sound, and Gray’s harbor. From
the main divide, and in many places exceeding it in height,
branch out in all directions spurs and ranges, they in their turn
rel)ranching and branching again, until the complicated rami-
fications of mountain ridge and ])eak so completely cover the
countiy with their rugged heights that there is hardly room for
the gorges and can}mns and ravines that lie between, and none
at all for valley or plain. These mountains are a com]>aratively
recent upheaval, and nature has not yet had time to round off
their slopes or dull the jagged sharpness of their summits. She
has, however, through the agency of an enormous rainfall, cut
various gigantic sluices in the rocky face of the mountains, and
through these a large amount of detritus is brought down.

Mount Ol^unpus, the name peak, 8,150 feet high, is the highest
and most conspicuous mountain in the range. It was first named
La Sierra Santa Rosalia, by Perez, in 1774, but in 1788 Captain
John Hears saw and described it under the name of mount
Olynqms. It is about twenty miles south of Freshwater bay on
the straits of Fuca, and is southwest of the main divide, with
which it connects by a short, sharp, high ridge. It is a cluster
of sharp, jagged rock peaks projecting upward through an accu-
mulation of ice which forms a cap two miles wide and four miles-

THE OLYMPIC COUNTRY

135

long to the main body of the mountain. It is difficult to esti-
mate the thickness of this ice cap. At the close of summer, when
it is thinnest, there are ])laces where it has the appearance of
being at least 500 feet thick. It is built up many additional feet
in thickness by the storms of winter, to be correspondingly melted
away again by the succeeding warm summer months. The
Queets, Hoh, and Solduck rivers head in mount Olympus, and
Higley and Tunnel creeks, branches of the Elwha, have their
sources in an ice-field two miles long and three-fourths of a mile
wide close to the northeast end of Olympus. Tunnel creek has
formed a beautifully arched tunnel 20 feet high and 40 feet wide
(in summer), through which it flows for two and one-half miles
under an accumulation of ice that fills the gorge to a depth of
100 to 300 feet. These accumulations of ice are very numerous
among the higher peaks all through the range.

As for scenery, perched on one of the numerous accessible
peaks you are surrounded by towering, sky-piercing pinnacles
and ragged, rocky ice-capped ridges that are plowed and har-
rowed by slides of rock and ice and chiseled and worn by ages
of rushing water, mantled with snow and garlanded with great
patches of roses and daisies and dainty mountain flowers and
gowned with dense, dark evergreen forests, reaching far down
into cavernous depths of canyon and ravine, across which on
some oppo.site mountain side is rushing down from its icy foun-
tain head a tumultuous mountain torrent which finally dashes
over a lofty precipice apd is lost in a veil of mist in the valley
below. Away to the west is seen the ocean with its lazily rolling
billows, the dark trail of a steamer’s smoke, and the white sails
of a ship just showing above the horizon. To the east lie Hood’s
canal and Puget sound, with their bays and arms and inlets
si)read out like silver leaf on a carpet of green. Beyond rise the
dark, wooded slopes and snow-clad summits of the Cascades,
with grand old Rainier standing guard to the southeast and the
majestic Baker to the northeast.

flakes Cushman, Crescent, and Quinault are all of considerable
e.\tent and great dei)th. At (iuinault lake, nearly 20 miles from
the ocean, the boom of the breakers on the lujach is plainly
heard during and after a storm, but the sound comes from the
opposite direction to the ocean, being rellecti'd from the slopes of
mount Frances on the east. For 25 miles north from the mouth
of Cray’s harbor is a stretch of broad, smooth, hard, sand beach
reaching to [joint Crenville. From [loint Crenville to cape

136

THE OLYMPIC COUNTRY

Flatteiy, bluffs 100 to 250 feet high border the ocean. Some-
times they stand a little back, leaving a narrow strip of loose
sand, gravel, boulders, or slippery ledge between them and the
sea. Sometimes they approach a little closer ; the strip of sand
or rock is correspondingly narrower and covered with water as
the tide rises. Often they push boldly into the sea, which con-
tinually surges and dashes at their feet and leaps high up their
face. About five miles southwest of the mouth of the Hoh
river and four miles offshore is Destruction island, so called on
account of the numerous wrecks that have occurred on its reefs
and on the adjacent main shore. The island stands among
many broad reefs, some of which are just visilde at low tide, and
over these the ocean swells foain and boil at high tide. It rises
abruptly, with precipitous sides, 80 feet above the water, and
then spreads out smooth and level about 60 acres in extent. The
Ploh Indians have long cultivated several small potato patches
on it and have also used it as a lookout station for whale, in the
capture of which animal they have attained great proficiency.
The United States Government has built on the island a light-
house of the first order, 80 feet high, with a double fog-horn and
the usual auxiliaiy buildings. It commands a fine view of the
coast and mountains.

On the mountains, above 4,000 feet, the timber is very scrubby
and infrequent, owing, probably, as much to the barrenness of the
soil and the great depth of snowfall as to the elevation. At a
lower altitude, among rocky crags, are thousands of acres of the
finest grazing lands, well watered by innumerable rivulets and
pools, fanned by the winds from the ocean, and free from flies,
mosquitoes, and all other annoying insects. Of course, these grass-
lands would not be habitable during the winter, but they would
be available from the first of June until December. Among the
rocks at the edge of the grasslands, and just below the ice-fields,
blueberries, huckleberries, and bearberries grow in profusion, and
the season for them lasts from July to October, as they follow
the snow U{) as it melts away, blossoming just below it and ripen-
ing a little lower down. These berries attract thither large num-
bers of black bear, and it is the exception when none are in sight
among the peaks during the beriy season. These open grass-
lands are also favorite ranges for large numbers of the elk that
are common all over the peninsula and bands of fifty or more
are often seen. From 4,000 feet down, the timber is good and
thrifty. The Alaska cedar, from one and one-half to five feet

THE OLYMPIC COUNTRY

137

in diameter and running up smooth and tall, is a very valuable
variet}^ of timber aud is common down to 1,000 feet above sea
level. The mountains and uplands of the peninsula generally
are heavily timbered with hemlock, cedar, spruce, fir, balsam,
pine, vine-maple, alder, cottonwood, yew, cherry, etc., prevalent
in about the order named and of the usual Puget sound size and
quality. The valleys and bottom lands are densely covered with
alder, vine-maple, cottonwood, willow, boxelder, crab-apj^le, ash,
dogwood, and occasional immense bottom-land si:>ruces. There
is frequently also a very heavy undergrowth of sallal or salmon-
berry or of hazel or of mountain hemlock. It is also a great coun-
try for moss, which grows deep on the ground and down timl:)er
and on the trunks of standing trees and hangs in long streamers
from the twigs and branches, and is always wet and slipper}^ ex-
cept in the dry season. Many beautiful varieties of small, delicate
ferns grow among the forests. On the prairies, which are neither
numerous nor large, and Avhich are often gravelly, though some-
times containing a very rich soil, a large and coarse variety of
fern grows four to ten feet high.

Between the mountains and the coast are about 1,300 square
miles, or 830,000 acres, of comparatively level valley and bench
lands. Of this about 225,000 acres are rich bottom lands along
the various streams. The soil of these bottom lands cannot be
surpassed an^Mvliere on the coast. The uplands are general!}’'
rolling, but there are several quite extensive and comparatively
level tracts. The fact of these lands not draining readily has
encouraged the growth of fine bodies of large cedar, with, in some
places, tall, smooth, large, white pines scattered among tliem.
These cedar lands are in no sense swamps or bogs. The soil is
a heavy clay, into which the sluggish streams have not cut very
deep channels, and they are frequently clogged or turned by
fallen timber, so that during the rains the streams overrun their
banks and spread ]>retty much all over the country, keeping the
ground Avell soaked all through the rainy season. There are,
liowever, abundant facilities for drainage. The soil is excellent,
and there are numerous small oi)enings sufficiently large for nice
farms. The soil of the rolling u|)lands is generally a rich, shot
clay, but sometimes quite gravelly. The timber is generally very
heavy and it will l)e many years before all the goo<l land is under
cultivation. There are, however, many open ))laces and small
creek lafitoms and depressions among the hills that can be v(‘ry
easily cleared. In fact, there are few IfiO-acre tracts on which

138

THE OLYMPIC COUNTRY

cannot be found ten or more acres of good land comparatively
easy to clear, and the timber on all these lands will be valuable
in a few years and be a help instead of a hindrance in establish-
ing a home.

The principal streams draining this slope are the Quillyhute
and its four branches, the Dickey, the Solduck, the Killawah,
and the Bogachiel ; the Hoh, Quects, Quinault, and Humptulips.
Tliey are all clear, cold, rapid streams, capable of floating logs
and being canoed considerable distances. They teem with sal-
mon and trout. The Quinault salmon, peculiar to that stream,
is a short, thick fish, weighing from three to seven pounds and
said to be the finest variety of salmon on this coast. Oppor-
tunities for developing good water-power at very small cost are
numerous along these streams, and especially so in the moun-
tains. Game is plentiful, and .it would be a ])aradise for the
hunter were it not so difficult of access. In addition to elk and
bear, before mentioned, are deer, mountain goat, cougar, beaver,
otter, fisher, wildcat, marmot, geese, ducks, grouse, partridge,
quail, pelican, and many smaller or less desirable birds and
animals. Off' the beach from Gray’s harbor to ])oint Grenville is
one of the few sea-otter ranges of the world. It still furnishes a
few hides of that valuable fur to market each year.

The country rocks of the mountains are syenite, gneiss, quartz-
ite, i)rotogene, crystalline and chlorite schists, slate (hard black
flinty to soft green talc) shale, sandstone, trap, and basalt. In
the foothills on tlie west and along the coast the formation is
])rincipally shales, sandstone, cement gravel, conglomerate (in
one place near IIoli Head, boulder conglomerate), clays and drift
gravel and sand. Limestone much criss-crossed with small
quartz seams is found in a few places. Claj^s are especially
al)undant and good-appearing, and, so far as tried, give very ex-
cellent analytic returns. Beds of partially formed lignite are
abundant along the coast between the Quinault and Quill3diute
rivers. In a bluff, a few miles south of the mouth of the Hoh
river, four seams of such lignite, from 18 inches to 3 feet thick,
show, lying horizontally one above the other, and separated b,y
4 to 12 feet of sand or clay or both. In this lignite the form of
roots, trunks, and limbs of trees, also the grain of the wood,
show veiy distinctly, and occasional!}^ pieces of Avood, but little
changed, are found. Small seams of very good coal crop out in
several ]daces in sandstone and shale, but the}" are too small, so
far as found, to l)e of any value. Between Pillar point and

THE OLYMPIC COUNTRY

139

Clallam ba}’’, on the straits of Fuca, is the abandoned Thorn-
dike coal mine. There are said to have been “ six leads of
coal, ranging in thickness from 1 to 3 feet, dip 10 degrees, dis-
tance between coal leads, 12 to 100 feet, formation sandstone.”
This is said to have been one of the best coals found in Wash-
ington. It was mined for some time, until it pinched out or was
cut off by a fault and the vein Avas lost and Avork abandoned.

In the valley of the Solduck riA'er, among the mountains, is a
group of springs Avhich discharge quite a volume of hot Avater of
undetermined medicinal value. Fine springs heavily charged
Avith iron or sulphur are A^ei’}^ numerous. On the coast just
south of the Queets river, in the bluff along the beach, are several
small alum springs. The alum is present in A'ery small quanti-
ties, and cannot be detected during the rainy season, Avhen the
natural floAV of the springs is reinforced by the numerous rains ;
but during the diy season, AAdien the springs are at their loAvest
ehb and Avhen the Avater from them is evaporated A'^ery fast as it
trickles doAvn the cliffs exposed to the afternoon sun, the alum
marks AA'ith Avhite streaks the margin of the rivulets. There is
also some borax present, and probably other chemicals might be
found in measurable quantities.

ScA^eral A'arieties of iron ore are scattered promiscuously OA^er
the peninsula in limited quantities, and ocher and iron stains are
numerous. Near Port ToAvnsend is a deposit of limonite that
has been Avorked for some time. On the headAvaters of the
Ilumptulips river is a vein of magnetite al)out one foot thick.
On the coast south of Raft river is a bed of clay ironstone of very
loAV grade and so badl}^ mixed Avith sulphurets as in all proba-
bility to be Avorthle.ss. The traces of iron are so ainmdant and
AA'idespread that it Avould seem that there must be someAvhere in
the peninsula extensive deposits of a pure and valuable ore.

Colors of gold are found in the beach sands and along several
of the streams in the mountains, and in a feAV i)laces fair AA'ages
luiA'e been made Avashing it. Low grade silver and cop))er ore
arc found in good-sized A'eins in the mountains. Com])aratively
little prospecting has been done, OAving to the inaccessi))ilit}^ of
the region; not enough to determine its value as a mineral
country.

It does not seem reasonable to suppose that the great upheaval
of these mountains has been aecom])lislie(l Avithout bringing
Avithin reach some valuable mineral de])osits. The i>rineipal
ai)i>arent wealth of the p(‘uinsula is in its immense foicsts of line

140

THE DISCOVERY OF GLACIER BAY, ALASKA

timber, of which the Alaska cedar of the mountains will soon be
an important factor, and in the large area of fertile valley and
benchland on its western slope.

The climate of the western slope of this peninsula is a little
different from that of the rest of western Washington. Owing
})robably to its proximity to the ocean and its acces.sibility to the
ocean breezes, there is more wind and much le.ss foggy weather.
The amount of rainfall on the average is in excess of that of the
Sound country, but it comes in the shape of sharper showers and
heavier storms, thus allowing a much greater proportion of fair
weather. In the summer the nights are cool, but not cold, allow-
ing tomatoes and corn to ripen ]>erfectly and naturally, as they
do not elsewhere west of the Cascades. Except in the moun-
tains, ice or snow is seldom seen, and then only for a few hours
at a time.

THE DISCOVERY OF GLACIER BAY, ALASKA

By Eliza Kuhamah Scidmoke

{The Cerdunj Dictionary)

“Di.scover — t. To gain sight of, especially for the first time, or after a
period of concealment ; espy ; as, land was discovered on the lee bow.

“ Hence 5. To gain the first knowledge of, as something that was be-
fore entirely unknown, either to men in general, to the finder, or to
j)crsons concerned; as, Columbus discovered the new world; Newton
dijscovered the law of gravitation ; we often discover our mistakes when
too late, &.C.

“6. To explore; bring to light by examination.”

( Webster' H International Dictionary, 1892)

“Discover — 2. To disclose; to lay open to view; to make visible; to
reveal ; to make known ; to show ^what has been secret, unseen, or
unknown!.

“ 3. To obtain for the first time sight or knowledge of, as of a thing
e.xisting already, but not perceived or known; to find out; to a,scer-
tain ; to espy ; to detect.”

( The Standard Dictionary)

“Dlscover — To get first sight or knowledge of, as something previously
unknown or unperceived; find out; ascertain; espy; detect; specific-
ally, to find and bring to the knowledge of the vsorld ; as, to discover a comet,
a princii»le, or plot.”

“ It is in the highest degree probable that Lief Ericsson and his
friends made a few voyages to what we now know to have been the
coast of America ; but it is an abuse of language to say that they ‘ dis-
covered’ America.”

Fiske, Discovery of America,” vol. 1, ch. 2, p. 255.

THE DISCOVERY OF GLACIER T, ALASKA

141

In a recent communication to the Geograihiical Society of the
Pacific, Rear-Admiral L. A. Beardslee has raised questions as to
the discovery of Glacier bay, prompted thereto by an article liy
Professor John IMuir, pulilished in the Century Magazine, June,
189-5. Admiral Beardslee very tlatteringly refers to and quotes
in proof certain published notes of my own — notes puldished in
such condensed form for general and average tourist information
that not all the details and facts relative to the discoveiy of and
earliest visitors to the bay could be given.

Vancouver’s descrii)tion would dispel some of Admiral Beards-
lee’s references to later visitors, since he very plainly noted the
fact that there was a navigable bay with an entrance, and wrote :

“The shoves of the continent form two large open bays, which were
terminated (July 12, 1794) by compact, solid mountains of ice rising per-
pendicularly from the water’s edge and hounded to the north hy a con-
tinuation of the united, loft\% frozen mountains that extend eastward
from mount Fairweather. In these bays also were great quantities of
broken ice, which, having been put in motion by the springing up of a
norther! wind, were drifted to the south waixl.”

The Fairweather ice-sheet extended then some 40 miles south
of its present limit in the bay. The Russian traders aptly named
Icy straits into which the bay debouches, and as there were no
Indian villages on its north shore, where currents and floating
ice made navigation dangerous, they kept away, and their charts
" only repeated Vancouver’s lines.

J'he first really known of the existence of this great bay of
tide-water glaciers was in 1869, when Kloh-Kutz, the Chilkat
chief, told Professor George Davidson of a l)ay full of breaking
ice clifl's lying to the westward of the Davidson glacier in Lynn
canal. It was distant only one day’s journey on snow-shoes
(30 miles), be stated, and Kloh-Kutz urged the astronomer to
make the little excursion with him and see the hair-seal riding
around on ice cakes and the ice rumbling down like landslides
into the water. The visit of ex-Secretary Seward to the eclipse
ol)servatory ami his waiting to convey Professor Davidson hack
to Sitka on his private steamer prevented the full discovery of
the hay that season hy that first and greatest of Pacific coast
scientists whose name is so inseparably connected with all of geo-
graphic record on that side of our continent.

In 1S77, when Lieutenant C. F. S. Wood, U. S. A., and Mr
Charles J'aylor were ]»revented from making their pro|)ose(l ex-
ploration of the mount St. Flias region by the mutiny of their
10

142

THE DISCOVERY OF GLACIER BAY, ALASKA

native boatmen, the old chief pointed to mount Fairweather and
said : “ One mountain is as good as another. There, is a very big
one. Go, climb that, if }’OU want to.” The disappointed ex-
plorers were forced to turn Ijack, and then visited the most west-
erly of Vancouver’s great ba3"s south of mount Fairweather,
afterward named Taylor bay b}^ Coast Survey officials. In that
most interesting and beautifully illustrated article, “ Among
the Thlinkets,” Century Magazine, July, 1882, Lieutenant Wood
wrote :

“ !Mr Taylor decided to return home, and we accompanied him to Sitka.
There I reengaged Sam and Myers, and, obtaining a new crew, returned
at once to a bay about twenty miles southeast of mount Fairweather.
My purpose was to explore the bay, cross the Coast range, and strike the
upper watere of Chilkaht.”

From that bay he “ went with a party of mountain-goat hunters
up into the St. Elias Alps back of mount Fairweather — that is,
to the northeast of that mountain.” He found that great game,
also the rare St. Elias silver-tipped bear, crossed the divide to
sight of the bush country explored Mr E. J. Glave in 1891,
and returning to the ba}’’ spent several days, in the seal-hunters’
camp in Geikie inlet near the Wood glacier, as they were later
named by Professor Reid. Lieutenant Wood had applied for a
year’s leave of absence, with the intention of making further
in;lependent ex[)loration in the interior of Alaska, ljut it was
denied him. His brief reference to the Ijay in a popular maga-
zine article cannot be accepted as Inlnging it detinitel}^ to the
knowledge of the world, since he did not specihcally describe,
sketch, ma]), or name any part ot the region. In ]>rivate letters
and verbally, wlienever the subject has been Innached. Lieutenant
Wood entirely disclaims being the discoverer of Glacier bay, and
very modestly protested against Professor Reid’s naming for him
the glacier beside Avhich he had camped. It was not vital.to him
at the time that the bay was not charted ; he simpl}’- went along
with the Hoonahs to the region where they promised great game —
not going for glaciers nor glory, but only to shoot mountain goat
and see the alpine region behind mount Fairweather.

In October, 1879, Professor John Muir, who for two seasons
had been searching for and visiting the glaciers of the Alaska coast
from the Stikine river northward, found this bay full of glaciers
of which native seal-hunters had told him. He, with his com-
panions, Rev. Hall Young and four Christian Indians from Fort
MT-angell, canoed to the head of the bay, camped for a few da}'S,

NAT. GEOG. MAG. VOL. VII, 1896. PL. XVII.

FRONT OF MUIR GLACIER FROM THE WEST MORAINE — MOUNT CASE IN THE BACKGROUND

>?■ ■.■ V ?■

^ 1 ’ »-. ■■ ■■» p *.' 4 I

" i' > ■

• /^.--^/''V.j'.Mwy«..

THE DISCOVERY OF GLACIER BAY, ALASKA

143

iind made the circuit of its shores. Having found these glaciers,
he l)i’OUght them to the knowledge of the world in the series of
letters from Alaska published in the San Francisco Evening
Bulletin, and described them in lectures illustrated by blackboard
sketches of these remarkable “ Fairweather glaciers.”

In July, 1880, Captain Beardslee brought the steamer Favorite
into the ba}%up to that time unknown to the Russian pilot who
accompanied him. They proceeded a little beyond the island
then named for the trader, Willoughby, who was with them, and
then turned back, fleeing from storm-clouds and fog that greatly
alarmed the owners of the chartered steamer, who feared the loss
of their insurance in the event. of any disaster befalling them in
those uncharted and dangerous waters. While Captain Beardslee
held parle}^ with the Indians in Berg bay. Ensign Hanus made a
ruijning surve}’’ of the lower end of the ba}’’, the lines of its north-
ern extension and indentations being drawn in roughly from the
descriptions of the native seal-hunters. The Indians at the same
time told of the two white men who had come the preceding-
year, and Captain Beardslee easily recognized Mr Muir from this
description, the glacial prospector being well known on the coast.
Mr Muir returned to the bay in September, 1880, and spent some
weeks exploring the ice-fields. On his return that winter to San
Franci.sco, he again wrote and lectured about the “ Fairweather
glaciers,” the onl}” designation he gave to these ice-streams.

Captain Beardslee described his visit in an official report
(Forty-sixth Congress, Second Session, Senate Ex. Doc. No. 145),
accompanied l»y his map of the bay, and also ])ublished an
account in letters to Forest and Stream. B}^ his own ))ersonal
insistence and a determined stand made at the Coast Survey
office, (.’a|)tain Beardslee had his very apt name of Glacier ba}'
retained on official charts, instead of giving to it the name of
some inconsequent and now forgotten statesman whom it seemed
oflicially desirable to flatter at the time. All ^Alaska tourists owe
it to Captain Beardslee that this reserve of such uni)aralleled
scenic grandeur is not vulgarized by some great misnomer.

Captain Beardslee gave a tracing of this chart and notes to
Captain James Carroll, and Mr Muir assured that navigator that
there was clear navigation beyond the Beardslee islands, and
tliat if be followed tlie eastern shores he would find anchorage
in a broad inlet into which one of the largest glaciers l)roke away.
Captain Carroll took the steamsliip Idaho into the bay in .luly,
1884, found the inlet and glacier as descril>ed, and named them

144

THE DISCOVERY OF GLACIER BAY, ALASKA

both for ]\Ir Muir. Cai)tain Mblliam George, pilot of the Idaho,
sent a sketch maj) and notes, -with record of the names they had
bestowed, to the Coast Survey. It was ni}’’ good fortune to be
one of the Idaho's passengers on that voyage, and a pleasure later
to inform Mr Muir at his Martinez ranch that the great glacier
had been named for him. “ M’hich one of the glaciers do they

call mine?” was his amused question and only reply. Mr INIuir
did not bestow any names in the course of his first ice explora-
tions in Alaska.

The bay has not yet been surveyed and charted by the gov-
ernment, although the Pacific Coast Steamship Compan}'’s ves-
sels have regularly visited it since 1883 and landed thousands

THE DISCOVERY OF GLACIER BAY, ALASKA

145

of enthusiastic passengers in Muir inlet. Through private enter-
prise the Muir glacier and all its tributaries have been explored
and mapped, and the work of Professor Harry Fielding Keid
and his assistants leaves nothing for the delinquent government
to do in that quarter. Mr Muir canoed across the front of the
Grand Pacific glacier and the shores of the bay’s end in 1879;
Professor Reid made a similar canoe cruise in 1892, and succeed-
ing in it, accompanied Captain James Carroll, who took the large
ocean steamer Queen around those upper reaches, found the un-
suspected Johns Hopkins glacier, and, penetrating two deep
inlets, discovered the hitherto unknown Rendu and Carroll
glaciers, as then named by Professor Reid and published on the
map accompanying Appleton’s Guide to Alaska.

Mr Muir seems to be justly entitled to the honors as the dis-
coverer of Glacier ba}'', since he first fulfilled the conditions
of botli finding and bringing its wonders to the knowledge of
the world. Lieutenant Wood, as he himself says, did not surely
know that the bay was waiting to be found; that it definitely
needed a discoverer, and his scant geographic references in the
Century's pages did not altogether bring it to the knowledge of
the world or stimulate others to explore. He awards all the
honor to Mr INIuir. Lieutenant Wood was the Lief Ericsson,
l\Ir Muir the Columbus, in this instance.

. In five summer visits to Alaska, during one of which our party
camped for several weeks in the cabin at tbe side of INIuir glacier,
I made every effort to learn of earlier visitors than Mr Muir and
Lieutenant Wood and to meet those mythical miners who were
said to have known the bay well for years before the great glacial
geologist went there. The closest questioning of those residents
making these statements resulted in vague and foggy generalities.
“ I guess so ; ” “I was told so ; ” ‘‘1 supposed so.” Not a fact,
not a date, nor a definite statement, nor a j>article of proof could
be obtained from these free and easy talkers of steamer wharves
on toufist days. Tlie alleged miners had always “gone to the
Yukon;” it was not known whether letters would reach them
at Forty Mile creek or not; it was quite possil)le they liad left
the Yukon, etc. These ready dispensers of information did not
know the full names or the nial names of these miners; even
“Slim Jim,” of .Juneau, could not help them there, but they
were always sure that “a lot of miners” had prospected all
around the bay at least one year before .Mr .Muir went tln're
(1879), onhq tin; miners never thought it worth while to say

146

HYDROGRAPHY IX THE EXITED STATES

anything “ until these tourists began making such a fuss over
the glaciers.” Not one of them, however, had ever heard of
Lieutenant Wood’s visit in 1877, two years before Mr Muir and
one year before the mythical miners.

HYDROGRAPHY IN THE UNITED STATES

By Frederick. PI. Newell,

Chief Ilydeographer, United States Geological Survey

Hydrograph}' has been defined as that branch of the science
of i)hysical geograjdiy which ])ertains to the waters of the earth’s
surface. The river systems, the annual regimen of the streams
and their function in sculpturing the land, the lakes with their
fluctuations, and the oceans with their tides and currents, all
come within the province of the hydrographer. In the United
States explorations and discoveries in this lu’anch of geography
are being made largely through surveys carried on by the P'ed-
eral Government througli its various executive dejiartments — as,
for instance, the Coast and Geodetic Survey, a bureau of the
Treasury Deiiartment ; the Geological Survey, a part of the De-
partment of the Interior, and others. In common use, especially
among mariners, the term hydrograpliy is understood as per-
taining only to marine surveying and charting, but as employed
in scientific usage it embraces far more than the knowledge of
the coa.sts and includes all waters, without reference to naviga-
tion, thus covering the continents as well as the oceans.

In tracing the order in which these hydrographic surveys are
being made by the various organizations or Imreaus of the gov-
ernment, it may be well to begin with the waters as they first
occur upon the land and trace them downward in their course
to the ocean. First in this system comes the Weather Bureau,
which measures and records the precipitation at various j)laces.
From these data certain general deductions can be made regard-
ing the h}'drography of the country, Vmt the operations i)ertaining
more directly to this subject are those incident to the prediction
of floods along important streams. For this pur])ose the Weather
Bureau maintains river gauges at various points, the observers
reporting the height of water at certain intervals, and at times of
threatened floods telegraphing the facts regarding the behavior

HYDROGRAPHY IN THE UNITED STATES

147

of the stream, in order that the central office of the district or
that at Washington may be informed in time to issue predictions
or warnings as to impending disaster. The operations of this
bureau, as far as they relate to the h3ulrography of the rivers and
of the lake and seacoast navigation, are for the exclusive purpose
of issuing prompt notices, which shall be of immediate value to
the farmer or other resident upon the lowlands and to the sailor.

Coming next in the scheme of the study of the waters of the
countiy is the work of the Geological Survey, which, taking the
facts relating to precipitation and moisture given the Weather
Bureau and utilizing the data as to river heights as far as possi-
ble, expands these into a general stud\^ of the occurrence of water
within the United States, tracing out the causes, especiall}’- those
of topographic and geologic character, which lead to variations
in distribution and fluctuations in supplv, and in short bringing
together material by which the water resources of the country
may be known as thoroughly as its mineral wealth. From the
time, therefore, that the rain reaches the ground the Geological
Surve}^ endeavors to trace its course on or below the surface and
to ascertain the laws governing its circulation and its reai)pear-
ance by seepage or through natural outlets in springs or in arti-
ficial openings, such as artesian or other wells.

This Surve}", as incidental to the preparation of the great map
of the United States, examines in detail the surface of the country,
determines the age and character of the rocks, their structure and
position with relation to each other, their permeability or im-
l)erviousness to water, and the probal)ilities of their l)eing able
to _yicld a .suppl v at points not yet penetrated l^y the well-digger.
As in all scientific work, the ultimate object is that of prediction,
of revealing that Avhich is now unknown or but partly under-
stood. Such extension of knowledge rests ui)on a thorough ex-
amination and understanding of the history of the ]>ast and of
the conditicjns in the present. Before questions can be answered
as to what is the probable supply of water at this or that point,
for ))Ower, f(jr irrigation, or for municipal supply, it is nece.ssary
that long-continued and aceurat<‘ work be done.

'I'he Work of the United States (Jeological Survey n'lating to
water resources is carried on by the Division of 1 Ivdrograidiy.
The field operations of this division consist of the nuaisurement
at selected j)oints of the flowing waters of springs, erc(‘ks, and
rivers, the estimation of the discliarge of artesian wells, and of
the (piantities of water which can be obtained bv other metins.

148

HYDROGRAPHY IN THE UNITED STATES

Permanent river stations are estaljlished at man}" points on im-
})ortant streams, usually near their headwaters, and daily records
kept of the fluctuations. These fluctuations are in turn inter-
preted into quantities of discharge by means of measurements of
area and velocity made at .short intervals by the hydrograi)hers.
The quantities thus ascertained furnish the basis for compari-
sons day by day, month by month, and year l)y year, throwing
light U])on the relation Ijetween preci})itation and discharge,
and upon the modifying influences introduced by topography,
geologic structure, and cultural conditions. The non-periodic
fluctuation of waters, the questions of erosion, transportation)
and sedimentation, the apj)earance and di.sapjiearance of surface
streams and the minerals in solution are all matters connected
more or less directly with this .study of stream behavior.

The surveys of the surface streams, their sloj)e as oldained by
the toi)Ographers, their volume as measured l)y the hydrogra-
])hers, and their composition as determined h}" the chemist, are,
however, simjfle matters in comparison with; those which relate
to the waters immediately beneath the surface. In the fir.st case
the ])henomena are visible and tangible; in the second, keen
ol)servati(jn must he followetl by correct reasoning from well-
established facts and conclusions. The occurrence of under-
ground water in quantities sufficient to be of value, its character
as regards mineral contents, and the ])ressure under the influence
of which it may rise toward the surface, are all details which
vary with the geology of the i)articular area. To be aide to i)re-
dict that water can be found at a given })lace, at a certain depth,
and in quantity, it is necessary to know thoroughly all the facts
which can be ascertained concerning the geology of the region.
ToAvard this end the Geological Survey is collecting and i)utting
ui>on record all obtainable data concerning deep Avells, Avhether
successful or not, and is making examinations of the Avater-bearing
rocks Avherever they come to the surface or are penetrated by
underground Avorkings. In the course of the prei)aration of the
systematic sheets, de.signed ultimately to coA’er the AA'hole country,
much of this AA’ork has been done, but in certain ]Aortions of the
country, such as the subhumid, Avhere information is needed in
advance of the completion of these atlas .sheets, the held exami-
. nations of the hydrogra])hic division are l)eing pushed forAA'ard
for this one object. The inve.digations of this division are thus
seen to touch very closely the Avork of the Weather Bureau in its
records of precipitation and in its material for flood prediction,

HYDROGRAPHY IN THE UNITED STATES

149

and to connect these intimately with the mapping of the topog-
rapher and the studies of the geologist.

Passing from the many small streams of the country to the
larger, navigable rivers, the work of the Engineer Coi’i^s of the
Arm}'’ is reached. As far as this relates to hydrography, the sur-
veys of the Engineer Corps consist of examinations of particular
points with the object of obtaining information preliminary to
construction for the benefit of navigation. A considerable num-
ber of river gauges have been maintained and readings continued
in order to ascertain the periods of low and high water and to
obtain other data essential to correct plans. A few measure-
ments of volume havebeen made upon some of the larger streams.
^^'ith the work of the Engineer Corps can l)e placed that of the
INIississippi and Missouri River Commissions, these organizations
having conducted series of observations throwing light upon the
behavior of these great rivers. Nearly related to this has been
the work of the Lake Survey, conducted by army engineers, who
have ju’epared detailed maps of the shores, showing the harbors,
passages, and depths of water at all the shallow places.

At the head of tide water begins the work of the United States
Coast and Geodetic Survey. This, the oldest of the surveying
organizations of the Government, maps the navigable tidal waters
of the United States from the remotest waters to tlie shore line
and from the shore lipe outward to the oceanic abyss, studying
the currents and fluctuations of water surface and map])ing in
great detail the harbors, shoals, cliannels, and all other features
■of importance to mariners. The investigations of this Survey
have Ijeen conducted with the utmost accuracy, and its charts
and ])ublications relating to hydrograi)hy have reached tlie
liighcst ])oint of scientific attainment. With the work of the
Coast Survey may be considered that of tlie Light-house Board,
also a bureau of the Treasury Department, which in a relatively
more limited and less detailed way has made hydrogra])hic sur-
veys for the ])urp()se of erecting danger signals or light-houses,
and has thus contributed somewhat to the knowledge of the
navigable waters.

Extending beyond the bounds of the Uniteil States, our knowl-
edge of the hydrography of the great s(‘as is being added to by
the Hydrographic OHice ol' the Navy, which bi-ings together and
]»ublishes maps, charts, and everything of interest to mariners
relating to foreign lands, and covering with jierhaps less minute-
ness the shores of other countries in a iminner similar to that

150

RECENT TRI ANGULATION IN THE CASCADES

with which the Coast Survey has mapj^ecl out the waters of the
United States.

Historically the investigations set on foot l)y the Smithsonian
Institution should be noticed, for from these has come, directly
or indirectly, nearly all our information concerning hydrograj^hy
in its broader aspect. The systematic study of precipitation was
first begun under this institution, and after being well established
was turned over to the Signal Office, the predecessor of the
^^’eather Bureau. In other lines the Smithsonian Institution
has in similar manner shown the way, and when feasible has
entrusted the continuation of the investigations to other organ-
izations, in order that it might concentrate its own energies on
other original lines of research tending to “the increase and dif-
fusion of knowledge.”

RECENT TRIANGULATION IN THE CASCADES

By S. S. Gannett,

United States Geological Survey

During the field season of 1895, the United States Geological
Survey extended triangulation over a portion of central Wash-
ington. An astronomical determination of Ellensburg having
been made, a Ijase was measured on the roadbed of the Northern
Pacific railroad. From this base, triangulation Avas extended
into the Cascade mountains. Horizontal angles Avere measured
Avith an eight-inch theodolite, reading by micrometers to tAvo
seconds of arc. Vertical measures Averc also taken upon some of
the more prominent peaks, angles being measured by a vertical
circle four and one-half inches in diameter and reading by ver-
nier to one minute of arc. EleAUitions are based upon the height
of the Northern Pacific railroad at Ellensburg.

The ])reliminary comi)utation gives the eleA’ation of mount
Aix, by recii)rocal observations to and from stations in the base
ex|iansion, 28 miles distant, as 7,815 feet above sea level.

Mount Rainier, by foresights from mount Aix, 24 miles dis-
tant, is found to be 14,532 feet, mount Adams, likeAvise l)y fore-
sights from mount Aix, 42 miles distant, 12,470 feet, and mount
Stuart, by foresights from several stations in the base expansion
24 to 30 miles distant, 9,500 feet, above sea level.

THE ALTITUDE OF MOUNT ADAMS, WASHINGTON

By Edgar McClure

On July 10. 1895, in company with the heliograph party of
the Mazamas,* I carried a mercurial barometer to the summit of
mount Adams, a snow-capped peak in the Cascade range, in the
southern part of the state of Washington.

M^e traveled from Eugene, Oregon, by rail to Portland, Oregon
thence b}’’ steamer down the M^illamette river to its mouth, and
thence up the Columbia river to M^hite Salmon landing. From
this last-mentioned point we traveled north by Avagon road 27
miles to Trout lake, and thence by trail, still northward, 14 miles
to the snow line on the mountain side. This camp was called
Mountain VieAV camp, and is situated near the foot of the Mdiite
Salmon glacier. From this point it is a continuous climb of four
miles to the summit of the mountain.

The instrument used AA^as barometer No. 1612, made by James
Green, of Brooklyn, New York. It AA^as compared Avith the
’Weather Bureau instrument at Portland, Oregon, and Avith the
large standard barometer belonging to the State Weather Service
at the University of Oregon, at Eugene, Oregon. Parallel ol)ser-
Auitions Avere made by previous arrangement at Portland, Oregon,
Eugene, Oregon, and Seattle, M’’ashington.

Mountain View camp, at the snow-line, Avas left at 4:30 a. m.
on July 10, and the summit of the mountain Avas reached about
11:00 a. m. The ascent Avas madeover a large snoAV-field imme-
diately west of a long lava ridge Avhich runs southeastward Irom
the summit of the mountain. The climl) is long and hard, l)ut
it has no points of danger along the route. The summit Avas
left for the return trip about 4:00 p. in. and camp Avas reached
about 5:30 p. m.

Observations began on th'e summit at 12:30 p. m. and Avere
continued until 3:3') p. m. 'Phe air thermometer having been
accidentally broken on the evening before the climb, the air
temperature on the summit was taken from the attached ther-

* Tho Mu/.nmnH Ih an iiMSociiition of mniintiiin olimlicrs, witli liciul'nmrtors ut Port
Inml. Oronori. Tlio object of the orKanizittioii in the colle<'tion of Hcientific ilutii coii-
eerniriK the moiintaiiiH of Orej;oii niid WiiHbiiiKton.

152 THE ALTITUDE OF MOUNT ADAMS, WASHINGTON

inometer by subtracting three degrees. Parallel readings, taken
iit Trout lake and Mountain View camp, of the attached ther-
mometer and the air thermometer, before the latter was broken,
gave readings of the latter 2° and 3° below the former. The
belief that the reading on the summit of the mountain on the
-afternoon of the climb would have been in the same proportion
is strengthened h}^ the fact that the air temperature shown by the
nir thermometer used with the boiling-point apparatus closely
corresponded with my air temperature obtained in the manner
above stated.

OBSERVATIONS.

Portland, Oregon.

Seattle, Washington.

State Weather Bureau, July 10, 1895.

P. M.

Barograph.

Thermograph.

1:00

29.80

90 F.

2:00

29.79

92 “

3:00

29.77

93 “

Pref-sure figures corrected for tem-
perature. Barometer 157 feet above
sea level.

B. S. Payne,

Director.

Eugene, Oregon.

Univer

sity of Oregon,

July 10, 1895.

P. M.

Standard

Exp.

barometer.

thermometer.

1:00

29.380

93.5

2:00

29.374

94.0

3:00

29.361

95.0

Weather Bureau, July 10, 1895.

P. M.

Barograph.

Thermograph.

1:00

29.875

85 F.

2:00

29.865

86 “

3:00

29.850

87 “

Pressure figures corrected for tem-
perature. Barometer 119.4 feet
above sea level.

George N. Salisbury,

Observer.

Summit of Mount Adams, Washington.
Mazama Expedition, July 10, 1895.

P. ii/.

Barometer

Air

No. 1612.

temperature.

1:00

19.256

38.0

2:00

19.272

38.5

3:00

19.281

43.0

Pressui’e figures corrected for tem-
perature. Barometer 485.7 feet
above sea level.

S. II. McAlister,

Observer.

Pressure figures corrected for tem-
perature. Cistern of barometer 1.1
feet above the level of snow.

The calculations were made h}^ two methods — by iMajor R. S.
M’illiamson’s tables, based on Plantamour’s formula, and by
Guyot’s tables. In the former case, since no observations were
taken to determine the humidity of the air, the temperature cor-
rection Avas calculated by the formula of La Place. Three esti-
mates Avere made on each place as a base from observations taken
at 1:00, 2:00, and 3:00 o’clock p. m. This gives nine estimates

GEOGRAPHIC LITERATURE

155

by each method, or a total of eighteen estimates on the elevation
of the peak. The two results agree within 44.7 feet.

P. M. Williamson. Guyot.

Portland, Oregon 1:00 12,459.8 12,413.5

2:00 12,457.7 12,412.4

3:00 12,495.3 12,449.8

Mean 12,470.9 12,425.2-

Seattle, Washington 1:00 12,427.8 12,382.6

2:00 12,414.4 12,.369.2

3:00 12,458.1 12,411.8

Mean 12,433.4 12,387.9-

Eugene, Oregon 1:00 12,436.6 12,393.8

2:00 12,414.0 12,371.1

3:00 12,455.7 12,412.6

Mean 12,4.35.4 12, .392.5

Grand mean 12,446.6 12,401.9

The mean of these two estimates, 12,446.6 and 12,401.9, is 12,424.2.

Trout Lake and iMonntain View Camp. — An estimate based on
observations made before the climb gives the following eleva-

tions :

Trout lake (camp at Wagnitz place) 1,854 feet.

^Mountain View camp (snow line, July 10, 1895) 5,714 feet.

GEOGRAPHIC LITERATURE

Archeological Studies among the Ancient Cities of Mexico. Part I : l\Ionu-
ments of Yucatan. By William H. Holmes. Pp. 137, with 18 plates.
Chicago, 1895.

This is the eighth publication of the Field Columbian IMuseum and the
first of the Anthropological series. It opens with an itinerary of tlie
voyage of the yaclit /Omu (tlie property of i\Ir Allison A'. Armour), which
sailed fromXew York December 16, 1894, and reached the coast of A'ucatan
a fortnight later, carrying a scientific party lieaded l>y Professor Holmes ;
and thereafter, for two months, the services of the vessel and the energies
of the party were devoted to researches in the land of ancient cities.
Ever since the compiest Yucatan has been noteil for ruins of astonishing
magnificence, and the names c>f the ancient cities, Palemiueand Chichen-
Itza and Uxmal, an? hanlly less known than those of ))iesent population
centers. 8te|»hens, Maudslay, Bandelier, Charnay, and other archeolo-
gists have drawn on the rich store of records of ancient culture allorded
by these citic'S, and the liC IMong(*ons, husband and wife, have made
voluminous collections ainl evolved curious speculations amid the ruins ;
and mnv a well-known archcohjgist and artist has traversed this singu-

154

GEOGRAPHIC LITER A TURE

larl\" fertile field, and, with the aid of camera and pencil, has reproduced
some of the most striking features of the ancient work. The ]>hotographs
are excellent and remarkably well reprodiu-ed ; the author’s device of
representing the ruins in i)anoramas, with the mantle of vegetation
omitted, is quite effective, and the wealth of detail depicted in the minor
drawings adds much to the value of the book. In this treatise and the
succeeding ])art, which is i>romised soon to follow, a clear and faithful
picture of the Yucatec ruins will be found; and the great IMuseum at
Chicago is to be felicitated as the i)atron of the research and the depository
of the collections growing out of it.

Geolof/iral Hhtorii of Ihe Chantauqua Grape Belt. Bulletin No. 109, Cornell

T^niversity Agricultural Plxperiment Station, Ithaca, N. Y. By R. S.

Tarr. Pp. 30, with maps and illustrations.

This is issueil as the first specific attempt in this country on the part
of an exiieriment station to analyze the physical geography of a fruit belt.
Notwithstanding most excellent opportunities, very little has been at-
tempted in the United States in the way of studying the conditions of
soil and climate existing in what may be called type fruit regions. It is
obvious that such studies, if properly carried on, would be of great prac-
tical value, for if once the conditions prevailing in the type regions for
certain fruits were thoroughly understood it would be possible within
given limits to determine the practicability of growing such fruits in other
sections of the country. Work bearing on this subject has for several
years lieen in jirogressby Professor Milton Whitney, of the United States
Department of Agriculture, and as a result the geological and physical
characteristics of the type soils for several important crops have been
worked out. The work. by Profe.ssor Tarr, although somewhat different
in its character, has the same object in view, namely, that of ascertaining
the natural conditions existing in a region famous for the excellence of
one of its ju-oduc.ts, in this instance the grape. Professor Tarr has con-
lined his studies largely to the geological side of the question, first discuss-
ing the topography and then following with a consideration of the bed
rock. The different kinds of soils and their relative values are also dis-
cussed. Altogether the bulletin is very interesting, and is especially
valuable as taking up a line of work that has been somewhat neglected.

Die Liparisclien Lmda. In eight Parts, fully illustrated with excellent

wood cuts of Sket(dies by F redricb Hawranek. Prag. Ileinr. Mercy, 1895.

This handsome work gives a compk?te ])icture of the present condition
of these interesting historical islands and contains much information of
value to the student and traveler. Each of the first seven parts is de-
voted to an elaborate illustration of one of the islands, with a brief de-
scription of its natural features and culture. One cannot but regret that
the numerous illustrations of these remarkable volcanic islands are drawn
wholly from sketches instead of from photographs, which have so much
higher a value as a source of information. For example, in part 5, chapter
III, the illustrations of the cavernous coast show no definite relation of
the caverns and arches to the structure of the rock, as is well known to

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY

155

be the case along coasts of volcanic rocks. An excellent hachnre-shaded
contour map is given of each island, on a scale in some cases as large as
1:25000. The eighth ]>art contains, besides a map of the whole group,
brief descriptions of the climate, sea, anchorage, springs, flora, fauna, and
poi)ulation of the islands, as well as fuller accounts of the occui)ations of
the j)eople, their habits, customs, and commerce, with their means of
intercommunication and accommodations for tourists.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
SOCIETY, SESSION i895-’96

Special HeeCuKj, Febraari/ 28, 1896. — Vice-President Greely in the chaii'.
Mrs Fannie B. Ward read a narrative of Two Years’ Travel in and about
South America, illustrated by lantern-slides, mostly from original draw-
ings and i)hotographs.

Special Meeting, Slarch 2, 1896. — First lecture of the course of seven illus-
trated Monday afternoon lectures descriptive of a trip to Alaska. Presi-
dent Hubbard in the chair. IMr W J IMcGee described the route from St.
Paul, Minnesota, to Banff, Alberta, and Mr Bailey Willis an excursion
to Mount Rainier, Washington. Both addresses were illustrated by
lantern-slides.

Regular Meeting, March 6, 1896. — Vice-President Merriam in the chair.
^Ir F. V. Coville read a paper, illustrated by lantern-slides, on the Adaj)-
tations of Plants to Desert Environment. The pa])er was discussed by
Mr W J IMcGee, Surgeon-General George IM. Sternberg, U. S. A., Mr G. K.
Gilbert, Dr C. Hart Merriaiii, and otliers.

Special Meeting, March 9, 1896. — Second ^londay afternoon lecture.
President Hubbard in the chair. Prof. Charles E. Fay, of Tufts College,
^Massachusetts, ilelivered an address on the Glaciers, Peaks, and Canyons
of the Canadian Rockies, illu.strated by lantern-slides.

Special Meeting, March 12, 1896. — Reception at the Arlington Hotel to
the Venezuelan Boundary Commission. Presiilent Hubbard and a com-
mittee of ladies, headed by Mrs liichard Olney, received the Society’s
guests and presented to them u])wards of 400 of the members of the So-
ciety ainl their friends.

Special Meeting, .March IS, 1896. — President Hnl)bard in the chair. i\Ir
C. E. Borchgrevink, of Norway, adilressed the Society, giving a grai)hic
description of his voyage to the .Cntarctic continent, and exhibiting a
number of lantern-slide reproductions of photographs.

Special .Meeting, .March 16, 1896. — Third Monday afternoon lecture.
President Huhhard in tlnichair. IMr. lames Fletcher, of Ottawa, Cainnla,
de.scrih(Ml the triji from the Canadian National Park to the Pacific Coast,
illustrating his adflress hy means of lantern-slides ami specimens of the
flora and fauna of the region traversed.

156

MISCELLANEA

Rrfjnhir Meeting, March 20, 1806. — Vice-Presi«lent Gannett in the chair.
3Ir N. II. Darton read a paper, illustrated by lantern-slides, on the
Physiographic Development of the District of Columbia Region, tie was
followed by ^lajor Gilbert Thompson, who spoke on the Use of Geodetic
Control Lines in Geogi'aphic Work.

Special Meeting, March 23, 1896. — Fourth Monday afternoon lecture.
President Hubbard in the chair. Lieut. A. P. Niblack, L’’. S. N., de-
scribed the trip, “From Puget Sound to Sitka; Fiords, Islands, and
Canals,” with lantern-slide illustrations.

Elections. — New members have been elected as follows:

Fehruarg 28. — Rev. Dr Alfred II. Ames, Edward Burge.ss, Prof. J. A. I.
Cassedy, Rev. Ernst Drewitz, D. Wallace Duncan, O. J. Edwards, Miss
Mary H. Elliott, James Fletcher, A. B. de Guerville, Dr Herbert Harlan,
Chr. Heurich, Dr A. L. Howard, W. J. Lampton, Edmond S. Meany,
Daniel Murray, Rev. Jos. B. North, Walter T. Paine, Col. Henry A. Pierce,
'Win. 11. Saunders, H. Jaudon Smith, Chas. C. Snow, Chas. M. Staley,
W . P. Van Wickle, Win. G. Webster, S. T. 'White, John W. Winder,
Dr D. P. M'olhaupter, F. G. Wiirdemann.

March 20. — Perry Allen, Judge Victor Barringer, Miss ^larie E. Bying-
ton, Henry A. Curtis, James A. Edgar, Dr R. Farnham, Henry F. Getz,
Francis R. Hart, .Mrs \. G. Hensley, Marshall H. Jewell, Prof. L. M.
Keasbey, Chief Engineer Absalom Kirby, U. S. N., F. R. McCormick,
Lieut. A. P. Niblaek, U. S. N., Miss M. L. Nicholson, Frederick Law
Olmsted, Jr., Leojioldo S. Pietra, D. ^1. Quackenbush, C. C. Randolph,
W. L. Symons, Hon. G. P.Wetmore, U. S. S., Wm.AVhelan, 'W. D.M’ilco.v.

MISCELLANEA

The Congress of Chambers of Commerce at Bloemfontein, South Africa,
has resolved to adhere to meridian 22° .”0' east as the standard time for
South Africa.

The total output of gold in the seven Australasian colonies in 1895 is
oflicially announced as 2,350, -562 ounces, an increa.se of 106,928 ounces
over the production in 1894.

The salmon pack of the Columbia river last year amounted to 655,410
cases, of the airgregate value of S3, .342,928. The industry gave employ-
ment to 3,775 fishermen and to 1,574 cannery operatives.

The population of the city of Melbourne at the end of 1895 is officially
reported as 447,461, an increase during the year of 8,.506. The estimated
population of the seven Australasian colonies at the end of 1895 was
4,238,000, an increa.se of 11.25 per cent since the census of 1891.

Upw.\ri)S of 100,000 bales of .\merican and Egyptian cotton have l^een
received at 5Ianchester, via the ship canal, since September last. There
has also been a very large increase in the receipts of lumber and other
raw products, and much concern is again being felt in Liverpool as to the
probable effect of this great enterprise upon the commerce of that city.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE

TOURS THROUGH TOLTEC TOWNS.

The travel into Mexico annually becomes larger as people
come to realize the novelty of the delightful journey and the
ease and cheapness with which it can be made via the Southern
Pacific aud connecting lines in Mexico. At Spofford Junction
the Northern and Eastern tourist, who has presumabl}^ taken the
Southern Pacific at New Orleans because of its quick and direct
service and splendid equipment, finds his sleeper switched from
the main line, and a waiting train speedily takes him to Eagle
Pass and the Rio Grande. His car goes direct to the City of
Mexico via the Mexican International and Mexican Central
Railways, and the way leads through some of the most beauti-
ful and inspiring .scenery in the world. The whole native life
is so quaint and so at variance with all preconceived ideas — so
different from anything one sees in the United States — that the
tourist is in a constant tremor of excitement and finds himself
continually edified and interested. The life of the cities is no
less unique than is that of the rural district. Making the City
of Mexico a center, a great many points may be profitably vis-
ited— from the snow-clad summits of the great mountains to the
lowlands where the coffee and banana plantations .sweep to
the seacoast. P'or adflilional information call on or write to 8. F.
R. Morse, General Passenger Agent, vSouthern Pacific, New
Orleans, La.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE

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Send me 6 cents for

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NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE

National Geographic Monographs

On the Physical Features of the Earth’s Surface, desig-ned especially to supply to teachers and
students of geography fresh and interesting material with which to supplement the regular text-book.

I.IST OF MONOGRAPHS COMPRISING VOEUME I :

General Physiographic Processes . - - -

General Physiographic Features

Physiographic Regions of the Fnited Statijs
Beaches and Tidal Marshes of the Atlantic Coast
Present and Extinct Lakes of- Nevada - - -

Appalachian Mountains— Northern Section
Appalachian Mountains— Southern Section -
Mt. Shasta- a Typical F'xtinct Volcano . - -

The New England Plateau

Niagara Falls and Its History

|j. W. Powell

Prof. N. S. Shaler
Prof. I. C. Russell
Bailey Willis
C. Willard Hayes
J. S. Hiller
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G. K. Gilbert

Price for one set of ten monographs, $1.50. Five sets to one address, $6.00. Single monographs, 120c.

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Mr. iMarous Baker, U. vS. Geological Survey.

Capt. John R. Bartlett, U. vS. N.

I)r. Francis Brown, Union Theol. vScminary.

Mr. R. L. Corthell, C. R., New York.

Dr. Rlliott Cones.

Mr. Frank Hamilton Cushing, Bureau of
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Dr. Charles W. Dal)uey, Jr., .Assistant ,Secre-
tary of Agriculture and President (on leave)
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Dr. Win. H. Dali, Smithsonian lu.stitution,
Pres, of the Phil. Society of Washington.

Dr. George Davidson, President of tlie Geo-
graphical Society of the Pacific.

Mr. Arthur P. Davis, U. S. Geological vSurvey.

Mr. Wm.lM. Davis, Professor of Physical Geog-
raphy in Harvard University.

Dr. David T. Day, Chief of the Div. of IMining
Statistics and Technolog)', U. ,S. Geol. Sur.

•Mr. J. S. Diller, U. S. Geological Survey.

Hull. John W. h'oster, ex-Secretary of State.

Mr. Henry Gannett, Chief Topographer, U. S.
Geol. Sur. and Geographer of i ilh Census.

Mr. G. K. Gilbert, U. S. Geological Survey,
Pres, of the Geol. Society of Washington.

iien. A. W. Greely, U. S. A., Chief .Signal
Officer, War Department.

Hon. Gardiner G. Hubbard, President of the
National Geograjihic Society.

Dr Alark W. Harrington, President f>f the Uni-
versity of the State of Wa.shiiigton.

bieiit. I'lverett Hayden, U. S. N., Secretary of
the National Geograjihic Society.

Mr. Win. H. Holmes. Dir. of the Dept, of .\n-
throjiology, I'ield Coliini. Mu.seiim, Chicago.

Dr. I'hnil Holub, Vienna, Austria.

Dr. Sheldon Jack.soii, Ib S. Commissioner of
Rducation for Alaska.

Mr. George Keiinan.

Prof. William Ribbey, Jr., Princeton Coll., N. J.

Prof. W J McGee, Bureau of American Rth-
nology.

Mr. John R. McGrath, U. S. Coast Survey.

Admiral R. W. Meade, U. S- N.

Dr. T. C. iMeiidenhall, President of the Poly-
technic Institute, Worcester, Ma.ss.

Dr. C. Hart Merriam, Oruithologi.st and Mani-
nialogist, U. S. Department of Agriculture.

Hon. John II. Mitchtdl, U. S. S.

Prof. W. R. Moore, Chief of Weather Bureau.

Mr. Frederick II. Newell, Chief Ilydrographer
of the U. S. Geological .Survey.

IMr. Herbert G. Ogden, U. S. Coa.st Survey.

Rieut. Roliert R. Peary, U. S. N.

IMrs. Robert R. Peary.

Hon. Geo. C. Perkins, U. .S. .S.

Mr. William II. Pickering, Professor of Astron-
omy in Harvard University.

jMajor John W. Powell, Director of the Bureau
of American Rthiiology and President of the
Anthropological .Society of Washington.

Prof. W. B. Powell, Superintendent ol Schools,
District of Columbia.

Hon. John R. Procter, President of the U. S.
Civil .Service Commi.ssion.

IMr. Israel C. Ru.s.sell, Professor of Geology in
the University of IMichigan.

Dr. N. .S. Shaler, Profes.sor of Geology in Har-
vard University.

Commander Charles I). .Sigsbee, Ilydrographer
to the Bureau of Navigation, Navy Itept.

Aliss Rliza Ruhamah .Scidmore.

Commander Z. R. Tanner, U. .S. N.

Mr. I'rar.k Vincent, New York.

Hon. Charles D. Walcott, Director of the U. .S.
Geological .Survey.

Mrs. I'annie B. Ward.

Mr. Bailey Willis, U. S. Geological Survey.

PRINCIPAL CONTENTS OF RECENT NUMBERS.

JANUARY. Russia in liurojie, with maj), Hon. G.irdiner G. Hubbard; 'I'he .Arctic Cruise
of the U. .S. Revenue Cutter “ Bear,” with illustrations. Dr. Sheldon Jackson ; The
Sco])c and \’ahu‘ ol Arctic Rxjiloration, Gen. .A. W. Greelv.

FEBRUARY. Venezuela: Her Government, Peo])le, ;nul Bonmlary, with ma]) and illustra-
tions, William R. Curtis; 'I'he Panama C.in.il Route, with illustrations. Prof. Robi-rt '1'.
Hid; 'I'he 'rehuante]iec .Sliij) Rinlw.iy, with maps, R. R. Corthell, C. !(., RR. D. ; 'I'he
Present State of the Nicaragua Canal, Gen. .A. W. Greely; I'ixjjlor.ations b\- the Bureau
of .\nierican Rthnology, W J McGee.

This ininihrr ron/aitis a ///n/> of llir volh-y of ihr (h inoco, s/hneiuy /hr rxtrut of tnriloyy
hoiurd hv Hull -ouilrntuiv ami thr hrai iity U has on thr I 'riir-itrlaii Houmlary (Jitrs/ioti.

MARCH. — 'I'he .So-Called ‘‘Jeaniutle Relics,” Prof. Wm. II. Dali ; N.iiisen's Polar Rxpedi-
tion, Gti ii. .A. W. Gtreely ; 'I'he Sidnnarine C ibles of the World, CiUStav*- Herrle ; 'file
Survey .and Subdivision f)f Indian Tt riitorv, with map .and illustr.ation, Ili nry ('..aniiett ;
” I'rec linrghs” in the United States, James H. I’lodgett.

This itamhrr roitiaitts a rharf m x jo it/rhrs, shoicitiy /hr Sithmari m- Triryiafh ('ahirs of
hr H'or/d and thr Triiiiifal /.ami Liurs^ rlr. /( also loutaius fall f>ai/r foiltails of />r.
Va/iH'/i and I't o/. H m. //. //all.

25 Cents per Number or $2.50 per Year.

THE MAY NUMBER

10 1

will contain the

PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS

Hon. GARDINER G. HUBBARD, LL D

TO THE

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY,

AFRICA

with special reference to the Transvaal and the
Italian Possessions.

JUDD A DETWEII.ER, PRINTERS, WASHINGTON, D. C.

MAY, 1896

No. 5

! i ' I

Honorary Editor : JOHN; HjYDE

Honlorary Associate Edit(j>rs
'W J ^cQEE ELIZ^ HTJECAMA.H SCIDjkfO

pONXPNTS / / /

AFRICA SINCE 1888, WITB'i^EClAL REFERENCE TO SPUTaVpMCA
AND ABTsSinia. With taap. HON. 0.4liDINBR O. ’HOBBARD.
^Accompanied by portrait of Presjldent Hubbard.)

FPNDAMENTAL OEOORAPHIc'^LATION ,6f the THREE AMERI-
CAS. With map. ; ROBERT T. HILL

THE KANSAS RIVER ' ' a

i ARTHUR P„ DAVIS.

- " ■ r ■

OEOORAPHIC LITERATURE, p. 184 ; MISCELLANEA, p, 188

\Va\.SUL>‘C.'yON/

BY Till-: NATB^’AI. Ki<:<)<;ua1MII(’ S<X’IKTY

/ ■ / ' '

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The Ameuk^an- News CV.mi-any, aXI. -II Cmami)eiu .‘^•^I:^rr/Nl;^v V-.uk
Ix).n'I)on; K. .MAitr.»OKMir<;ii (’<>., .’>1 0|,„ B.vp.Kv,

Pauih: BKK.NrA.soH, .‘{7 .\vi;m k de i.’Oekka

Price 25 Cents $2.50 ^ year

Kntered ..t the rost-office in Washington. J).C , as Second-class Mall Mstlcr

PAOB

157

175 >

181

T II E

m -

■'kC-

National Geograpliic Societ^^

ORiaVNIZKT), JANUARY, 18SS

PnicsinicxT

OARDINKU fi. ULTBBAUl)

V ICE- BrESIDEN'I’S

MARCUS BAKER A. W. CUIEELY

CHARLES W. HAI'.XEY, Ju. C. HART MERRIAM

HENRY GANNETT HERBERT G. OGDEN

Tkeasukek
CHARLES .T. BELL

1 1 ECOUDI .NG SeCRETA K Y

Co RRESI’OX DING SeCRETA R Y

EVERETT HAYDEN

ELIZA R. 8CID.M0RE

Managers

II. E. BLOUNT

F. II. NEWELL

G. K. (HLBI*. Rr

AV. B. ROWELL ;

.lOHN HYDE

J. R. PROCTER

W .1 McGEE

J. B. WIGHT .

V - J

THE NATIONAL

GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE

Back Numbers wanted by the Society.

For tlie purpose of making up complete sets of the Magazine,
the National Geographic Society is prepared to purchase at rea-
sonable prices the following back numbers :

Of Vol. I, 1889, numbers 2 and 4; of Vol. II, 1890, num-
bers 2 and 3 ; of Vol. IV, 1892, numbers 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

Members of the Society or other persons having spare copies
of any of these numbers are invited to sell or present them to the
Society, as they may prefer.

Address; EVERETT HAYDEN, Secretary,

1517 H Street, Washington.

NAT. GEOG. MAG.

VOL. VII, 1896, PL. XVIIL

HON. GARDINER GREENE HUBBARD, LL. D.,
Piesidenl of the \at tonal Geographic Society.

THE

VoL. VII MAY, 1896 No. 5

AFRICA SINCE 1888, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO
SOUTH AFRICA AND ABYSSINIA*

By Hon. Gardiner G. Hubbard, LL. D.,

'President of the National Geographic Society

Eight years ago I selected Africa as the subject of ni}'- annual
address before the National Geographic Societ}". Since then the
nations of Europe, seeking new outlets for trade and possible
homes for their surplus population, have taken possession of the
larger part of the continent. They have developed Africa more
rapidly than in an}’’ preceding age, and have greatly increased
our knowledge of it.

Africa and America were discovered about the same time — the
one by Portugal, the other by Spain. Soon afterward the slave
trade was established between the two continents to supply the
place of Indian labor, the natives of America, unable to stand the
tasks imposed ui>on them liy the Spaniards, having been extermi-
nated. This trade proved so profitable that England soon took
part in it, exchanging her })roducts for slaves transj)orted to
the Spanish colonies in America. This continued for two hun-
dred and fifty years, or until the early j>art of the nineteenth
century, when the slave trade was abolished and the trade in
intoxicating liquors substituted, which has been to the African
a greater evil than the slave trade. A recent writer says that
four million gallons of the most jtoisonous gin and rum arc im-
ported yearly into the Nagos and Niger coast protectorates.

•Annual presidential address, delivered April 24, 1890.

158

AFRICA SINCE 188S

Xearl}^ half a centuiy ago two or three large mercantile firms
of Hamburg and Bremen established trading stations on the
west coast of Africa. Their jjrofits were very large, as, in ex-
change for rum, trinkets, beads, and worthless arms, cocoanut oil,
ivory, india-rubber, and other tropical products were obtained.
This trade finally resulted in the starting of a regular line of
steamers from Hamburg to the west coast, and also of one
through the Suez canal to the east coast. Prince Bismarck real-
ized that he had a most urgent problem to solve, either to re-
strain German emigration, or, failing in that, to keep it under
the control of the empire. America was closed; Asia was all
taken ; his only opportunity was colonization in Africa. He
ordered German ships of war to visit the African coast, and estab-
lished consulates at different ports. Treaties were made with
the natives for the purpose of acquiring colorable titles to large
tracts of land, the German flag was raised, and the countr}’- de-
clared to be under German protection. These settlements are
merel}’’ stations, where two or three families of foreign merchants
reside, and outstations of natives — middlemen, who carry on the
trade between the natives of the interior and the foreigners on
the coast. Germany also claims the hinterland or interior
country behind the stations, although most of it had been re-
garded by the English as under their flag.

At the time of the uprising in Egypt against the rule of England
and France, in 1882, France declined to act with England, but
soon bitterly regretted her mistake, and to offset her loss in
Pigypt she extended her dominion in northwest Africa and on
the Gold Coast and the upper Niger, although most of these
regions had been claimed ly' English traders. About the same
time the Kongo Free State was founded and claimed the whole
of the Kongo valley. This was opposed b}^ both France and
Portugal, the one claiming the countiy north of the Kongo, the
other that to the south. Thus in 1883 and 1884 it seemed that
all the groat nations of Europe might come into conflict regarding
their different claims in Africa. For the j^urpose of settling these
questions and defining the rights of each country, Germany,
France, Belgium. Portugal, and England held a conference at
Berlin in 1884, to which the United States was invited, the only
conference between the great powers, relating to foreign affairs,
in which it has participated.. At this convention and by subse-
quent agreements made between 1885 and 1895 the European
powers fixed the boundaries of their several African possessions.

AFRICA SINCE 1SS8

159

It was determined that free navigation and free trade should be
established for all nations within the regions watered by the
Kongo and its affluents — a right subsequently annulled — and
on the Zambesi to a point five miles above the mouth of the
Shire, and free trade for transit to regions on the Niger beyond
British influence.

Under these agfeements England and France each claim a
little more than twenty-five per cent of the Continent ; Portugal,
Germany, and Belgium together claim about twenty-three per
cent. The other European poAvers, with the Boers of the Trans-
vaal and the sultan of Turkey, together hold about twelve per
cent, leaving to the Africans the desert of Sahara and part of the
Sudan, about fifteen per cent. This gives to the European
powers, having no right but that of might, all those j^ortions
of Africa supposed to be habitable or valuable.

It has been the policy of Great Britain to alloAV her merchants
to establish commercial relations with the natiA^es by opening
trading-stations, but not until the trade becomes profitable, and
priA'ate enterprise and money have established the value of the
trade, to raise her flag, claim them as British possessions, and
exercise gOA’ernmental control. The East Indian empire Avas
the outgroAvth of a trading-station. France and Germany reversed
this policy, first taking possession of different parts of Africa,
establishing territorial governments, and aftei’Avard offering in-
ducements to mercantile companies to establish trading-stations
and in addition guaranteeing protection from the natiA^es. Eng-
land as a result of her policy — the flag folloAving the trade — has
secured the most valuable parts of Africa.

France holds an immense territory on the Mediterranean,
Avith Algiers as its capital, the country south of Algiers and Avest
of Senegarnbia, and on the upper Avaters of the Niger, AA’hile
England claims the Niger and Benue, the onl}^ navigable rivers
in Africa. England formerly claimed Damaraland and Nama-
qualand, on the soutlnvest coast of Africa, l)ut yielded them to
Germany, reserving a small tract of land near the center of the
territory, M'alfish Ijay, the only good harl)or on the coast and the
best means of access to the interior of the German possessions.

England alloAved Germany to secure a vast region in East
Africa over Avhich she had claimed dominion, Imt claims for her-
self a large j)ortion of Houth Africa, the Shire and the upper
Avaters of the Zaml^esi, tl»e part of Africa best fitted for the occu-
pation of Europeans. She retained Egypt, alloAAung France to

160

AFRICA SINCE 1888

acquire Tunis and the desert of Sahara. She yielded to Italy
the southwest coast of the Red sea and south on the Indian
ocean to the river Juba, including Massowah, the most unhealthy
part of the Red sea, on condition that Italy should occupy
Kassala and drive out the Mahdists, reserving also for herself the
best harbors in the Italian territory’ on the Indian ocean.

The occupation of Africa has cost France 8750,000,000 and Italy
her reputation as one of the leading powers of Europe ; Germany
has failed in her colonization scheme, for, as a recent writer says,
her colonists in Africa number less than 1,000 and cost about
82,750 a year each, while the only portions of Africa that have
3'ielded large returns for investments made, by colonists are the
regions controlled by England on the Niger and in South Africa.

THE BRITISH SOUTH AFRICAN COMPANY.

The government of these va.st tracts and colonies has gener-
ally been granted to companies chartered bj’’ the governments of
Europe. One of these companies, the British South African Com-
pan\qwas founded in 1889 by Mr Cecil Rhodes. The son-in-law
of the Prince of Wales and other members of the nobility were
made directors and officers, receiving full-paid founders’ shares.
Dr Jameson was one of the subordinate officers. The par value
of the stock, £1, soon rose in the market to £3 or £4, thus
securing a handsome profit to the companj^’s noble directors.
The company was authorized “ to acquire by any concession,
grant, or treaty all or any rights, authorities, jurisdictions, and
powers of any kind or nature whatever, including powers neces-
sar}’ for the purposes of government, comprised or referred to in
the concessions and agreement made as aforesaid or affecting
other territories, lands, or property in Africa or the inhabitants
thereof.” Among the privileges given to it are “ the right to es-
tablish banking and other companies and associations ; to make
and maintain railroads, telegraphs, and lines of steamships; to
carry on mining operations and license mining companies ; to
settle, cultivate, and improve the lands ; to preserve peace and
order in such ways and manner as it shall consider necessary,
and for that object maj" establish and maintain a force of police*
and have its own flag.”

The territory originally included in the charter of the com-
pany "was many times larger than Great Britain, but Mr Rhodes
and his associates, still unsatisfied, penetrated into Khama’s
country, Matabeleland and Mashonaland, defeated Lobengula,

AFRICA SINCE 1888

161

and added a large tract to that already under British protection.
But still beyond lay richer lands, and in June, 1895, a territory
called Northern Zambesia and N3^assaland, larger and more val-
uable than the original grant, was added to the South African
Company. This was the land discovered by Dr Livingstone, set-
tled by Scotchmen at his instance, and here on lake Bangweolo
he died. The whole territoiy is now called -Rhodesia, or Zam-
besia, and extends from Cape Colony north over two thousand
miles past lake Nyassa, with lake Tanganyika as its northeastern
boundary and the Kongo Free State its northwestern. The com-
pany now claim a territoiy of nearly one million square miles,
an area larger than Europe exclusive of Russia.

The country is very thinly populated, and the valleys of the
LimjDopo and Zambesi are infested by the tsetse, a stinging ily
unknown elsewhere ; its bite is fatal to the horse and ox ; it
seems, however, to disappear with the advance of civilization.
But notwithstanding this pest, Zambesia, with its great elevation,
its fine climate, its fertile soil (much of it capable of cultivation
by irrigation), and its great mineral deposits, may become one of
the most wealth v and densely populated portions of Africa.

^^dthin the territoiy of the South African Company are the
richest diamond mines in the world, and just over its border, in
the Transvaal, the richest gold mines.

DIAMONDS

India was formerly the onl}'- countr}un which diamonds were
found to any great extent. They were afterward discovered in
Brazil, and some of small size have been found in other jilaces.
The diamond fields of both India and Brazil appear to be nearly
exhausted. The first diamond discovered in South Africa was
found in 1868 near Kimberley, 620 miles north of Cape Town.
Since 1870, when mines were opened, the production has ra])idly
increased, and in twent}’’-five years these mines have ]n’odiiced
more and larger diamonds than all other countries, 98 per cent
of the present production of the world coming from Kimberley.

The.se stones are found in a region about twelve miles in cir-
cumference, where four small hills or pipes, as they arc called,
rise from 60 to 80 feet above the ground, i)rol)al)l}^ natural chim-
nej's or extinct craters, lined with walls of basalt, broadening
out below the surface to a great dei)th. 'I'hese craters are filh'd
with a blue diamantiferous formation, which has been forced to
the surface of the ground by the [U’cssure of the subterranean

162

AFRICA SINCE 1888

gases. In this formation the diamonds are imbedded, in a reg-
ular order known to miners. Formerly the earth was thrown
out from the surface until several hundred feet in depth over a
large area had been removed. This method of working was dan-
gerous and expensive, and now shafts are sunk at a little distance
from the craters and the blue earth is reached by underground
galleries. The workings are inclosed by high walls, within which
the workmen are confined during the time of their service. Each
night they are stripi)ed and their persons and clothing subjected
to a most careful examination. The secretion of diamonds or
their purchase from workmen is punished most severely ; but
with all these precautions diamonds to the value of probably a
million dollars a ,year are secured by the miners. Instances like
the following are not uncommon ; A man escaping on horse-
back was carefully examined and released, no diamonds being
found upon him, but on crossing the border he stopped, dis-
moimted, shot his horse, and took from the animal a small bag of
these precious stones.

There were originally so many different claims and rival com-
j)anies that their consolidation seemed almost impossible. It
was then that Mr Cecil Rhodes first appeared prominently before
the world. Througli his financial genius and marvelous man-
agement the companies were consolidated into one corporation,
with a capital of $20, 000, 000, The net profits in 1895 are said
to have been over $11,000,000 from the sale of the diamonds;
$5,000,000, or 25 per cent, was divided and the balance carried
to a reserve fund. The production is limited to the demand, so
that the market may not be overstocked and the diamond de-
crease in value.

TRANSVAAL, OR SOUTH AFRICAN REPUBLIC

Not far from the diamond mines are the richest gold mines in
the world. These are in the Transvaal, a country of from 110,000
to 120,000 square miles, 240 miles from north to south and 360
miles from east to west, and with a population of 700,000 to
750,000. Of these 75,000 are Boers.*

The ancestors of the Boers were Dutch and French Hugue-
nots, who had with our own Pilgrim Fathers found in Holland
a refuge from persecution for more than a generation. The}^ left
Holland about the same time that the Pilgrims and Dutch
sailed for America — the one to an inhospitable climate and a

Boer is the same word as the German Bauer and English boor, a peasant farmer.

AFRICA SINCE 1S88

163

life of hardship, privation, and intense activit3^ the other to a
genial climate, where toil was unnecessary and where all the
surroundings were favorable to life and a rapid increase of popu-
lation. The one has steadily advanced, the other retrograded, a
difference largely due to environment.

The southern coast of Africa for nearly eight hundred miles,
is entirely destitute of navigable rivers ; has neither harbors
nor islands, has only one or two open roadsteads, and therefore
offers no inducements to commerce. Nearly parallel with the
coastline are three chains of mountains running from east to
west, the first about fifty miles from the ocean and the others
from fifty to one hundred miles apart, each succeeding range
rising higher than the one in front of it. On the coast the soil is
rich and fertile, producing excellent grapes, yielding more wine
per acre than those of any other country, though of an inferior
quality. There is an abundant rainfall and the crops are large,
but the rain clouds passing over the mountains leave the. pla-
teau between them dry and barren. North of the third range is
the valley of the Orange, various branches of which, rising to the
north and south among the mountains, flow across Africa to the
Atlantic. Its eastern watershed is well watered and can be
easily irrigated, but until irrigated it is only adapted to grazing.

The railroad from the cape of Good Hope to Johannesburg
runs almost through the middle of the country. The land west
of the railroad is arid, and the Orange river grows shallower as
it approaches the sea. Only a small portion of the country is
suitable for agriculture, but a large part offers, wdth but little
labor, good pasturage for cattle all the year round. The climate
is delightful, the thermometer rarely rising to 90° Fah. or falling
below the freezing point.

This country was formerly inhabited by the Hottentots, among
the lowest in the .scale of negro races. About the time the Boers
landed in South Africa, the Bantus, the highest in the scale, were
pushing their wa}" to the south, along the eastern coast, forcing
the Hottentots into the interior and thence to the west. After
the advent of the Boers the increase in j)opulation was very slow,
the total number of inhabitants being only about twenty thou-
sand when the English took possession of Cape Colony in ISOO.
The English emigrants wen; better educated than the Boers, and
the two races have rarely intermarried.

After the Crimean war in 2, (MX) t<j 3,0()() Germans, volun-

teers in that war, were given homesteads in southeastern .Africa

164

AFRICA SINCE 1888

by the English; these have in the main been absorbed by the
Boers.

Between 1820 and 1830 slavery was abolished by Great Brit-
ain. The Dutch, who were engaged in trade and agriculture,
freed their slaves and remained in Cape Colon}', mingling more
and more with the English ; those engaged in the raising of cat-
tle, dissatisfied with the compensation offered, moved north-
ward, though still under British dominion.

Tlie English and the Boers were engaged in continual conflict
with the natives, hut the home government was unwilling to
defend the settlers. The Boers w'ere therefore compelled to
defend themselves, and thereby gradually became independent,
roaming with their families and cattle, crushing out or enslav-
ing the natives, until they reached the Orange river, in the
country now called the Orange Free State. Between 1835 and
1838 they settled beyond the river Vaal, in the Transvaal. Here
scattered over a vast area each family occupies as many acres as
it desires. There is no means of intercommunication, .save by ox
wagons, traveling only twelve miles a day. The people are with-
out near neighbors, and there are very few towns or villages.
In such a community education is necessarily neglected. Inter-
mingling with English, Germans, and Kaffirs they speak a
dialect unlike either the pure Dutch or the Dutch spoken in
Cape Town. They live in perfect social equality, with a strong
sense of personal dignity — ])roud, independent, neither rich nor
poor, but shrewd and self-willed. Mr Glad.stone has described
them as “ Protestants in religion, Hollanders in origin, vigorous,
obstinate, and tenacious in character, even as we are.”

In time of drought they move with their families and cattle
from place to place for pasturage, returning after the rains to
their homes. The hunting of game is an absolute necessity, not
only for the protection of the cattle from wild animals, but for
food, clothing, and trade. In consequence, the elephant, lion,
rhinoceros, ostrich, and zebra have been almost entirely driven
to the north. Mdien they are gone the Boer will probably lose
his remarkable skill with the rifle.

When the Boers receive a summons to arms from the president
they take their provisions, rifles, and ammunition, mount their
horses, and are off, the best sharpshooters and guerillas in the
world, as the English have frequently learned to their cost,
especially in the battle of Majuba hill, where, though strongly
entrenched, they were defeated with great lo.ss.

NAT. GEIOG. MAG.

SHOWING

PRINCIPAL POLITICAL DIVISIONS

English Statute Miles

Geographical Miles

<lcx*ndrl<

Sttaki n

Dongoli

yiCTi

\i% NYAi

) Mombasa

unztbar

'GAMYIt

Tr^oj>j^c_ of _ C^_r i_co r n

CHUANAL ~H[>

^Joh«nft«*b4irgj_ _yt>alag^aBay

r'V I

Vfybuji .

t C O L|0 N Y

>^Pofttinab*j

John Q.Torb^rt. I

rtum 1

\ 'J^assala

VX. VI

«=>\

saowah j

i w

/ !

- ^ A\

( V

N }

N 1

4^:T> . J

ri*i\

I. ^MOtO-L'tMO. Wft«HrH«<VrfN

VOL, VII.

■1896, PL. XIX

AFRICA SINCE ISSS

165

When the Boers were in Cape Colony, and for some time after-
ward during their nomad life, they Avere under English rule.
They rebelled at times, but it was not until 1852 that they threw
off the English yoke and became a free people. In 1882 Paul
Kruger was elected president, and by the Convention of London
in 1884 the Transvaal was recognized as a nation, England merely
retaining the right to approA'e “ all treaties made Avith any state
or nation other than the Orange Free State, and Avith any native
tribes outside the Transvaal.” The Boers agreed^ that “all per-
sons, Avith their families, should have full liberty to reside in any
part of the Transvaal and to carrry on any kind of business,
and such persons Avere to be subject to no higher taxation than
is or may be imposed upon citizens ; ” also that no slavery was
to be tolerated. If these privileges are conceded, England has
no right to interfere in its internal affairs.

The government of the Transvaal is nominally administered by
a parliament, but the poAver is in the hands of Paul Kruger, the
president, the grandson of a German, a stolid Boer of great nat-
ural abilitA" and shrewdness, Avith strong homely features and blue
eyes shoAving keen Avatchfulness and great firmness of purpose.
When parliament is not in session, he has poAver to issue proc-
lamations, Avhich can be enforced until its next meeting, and
Avben it is in session he rules the members, it is said, b}’' threat-
ening to reduce their salaries.

In 1885 gold Avas discovered on a ridge about six thousand
feet above sea-level, near the present cit}'’ of Johannesburg. Im-
migrants immediately flocked in. Today Johannesburg is the
center of a district, according to an informal but relial)le census,
of 120,850 Euroj>eans and Americans, all of Avhom are engaged
in mining. This discovery of gold has been most fortunate for
the Avorld. As the production of the mines of California fell
off, the loss has been made up in the Transvaal. After the dis-
covery of the California mines, the gold production of the Avorld
gradually increased until 1853, Avhen it reached the maximum
of §155,000,000 ; tlien it stcadil^Mliminished until 1883, Avhen it
Avas only §05,W0,000; at this time the African mines began to
supply the market. Since then production has rapidly increased,
and it is believed that in 1800 it Avill be over §200,0(_K),0()(), the
largest amount ever mined, and one-half Avill come from the
Transvaal. The veins have been carefully surveyed and traced
for several hundred miles, and it is believed that they are more
extensive than any other gold fields. In many places the re-

166

AFRICA SINCE 1888

mains of ancient surface workings, probably hundreds of years
old, have been found, supposed by some to be the mines of King
Solomon.

Beside the gold mines, the Transvaal is rich in all kinds of
minerals, especially silver, copper, coal, and iron. The soil also
is very rich, and with a proper system of irrigation is capable of
yielding large returns ; but the farms of the Boers are neglected
and unproductive. The late Lord Kandolph Churchill, who vis-
ited it in 1892, wrote of it that “ it might be the most wealthy
and prosperous spot on earth, but Providence has cursed it with
the rule of fifty thousand- Boers.”

The foreigners, or Uitlanders, as they are called, desire rep-
resentation in the government and claim rights and privileges
to which as foreigners and unnaturalized citizens they are not
entitled. They assert that taxes in Johannesburg, contrary to
the convention of 1884, are ten times as high as in Pretoria,
and that nine-tenths of all the taxes are paid by them ; that
they have no right to vote or to participate in the administra-
tion of the general or local governments ; that they are com-
pelled to sustain schools where all the instruction is in the
Dutch language. In answer it is said that Pretoria is a town of
poor farms ; Johannesburg a bustling, growing, thriving mining
city, with a large, unruly population, where taxes must be high ;
tliat the foreigners are absorbing the trade and carrying away
the wealth of the country, and should therefore pay the larger
part of the taxes; that the laws give the Uitlanders the right to
vote after naturalization and to become members of the lower,
though not of the higher, house ; that the sehools were established
b}’’ the Boers for their own children, not for the English, and
that naturally no provision has been made for instruction in a
foreign language; that the Uitlanders came into the Transvaal a
short time ago without invitation from the Boers, without any
fixed determination to remain, solely for their own profit, and
have therefore no right to complain of laws to which they have
voluntarily submitted.

The Uitlanders looked to Mr Cecil Rhodes and his company for
help and gladly promised to join any force that might be sent
to their relief. In response to tins appeal Dr Jameson collected
the police force of the chartered company, crossed the boundary
into the Transvaal in the last days of 1895 to restore the Trans-
vaal to English rule ; but he had underestimated the strategical
skill, the strength, and ability of tbe Boers. General Joubert,

A FRICA SINCE 18S8

167

the commander, showed on this, as on prior occasions, great mili-
tar}' ability, and by his quick movements put down the incipient
rebellion at Johannesburg, and defeated and captured the En-
glish forces. All South Africa would have rejoiced in the suc-
cess of Dr Jameson, and England would have accepted the
situation. Germany might have objected, though we cannot see
what right she would have had, for the Transvaal is hundreds of
miles from her possessions, and the new doctrine of “ Sphere of
Influence ” could not have applied.

The Boers have shown great forbearance, wisdom, and good
judgment in this emergency. In time of peace armed men in-
vaded their country to overthrow the government. They could
justly have been hanged, but, at the request of the British govern-
ment, the president surrendered Dr Jameson and his men for
trial according to the laws of Great Britain. We doubt if it
would be eas}’’ to find in all history an instance of like forbear-
ance and mercy. It should, however, be remembered that the
fathers of the present Boers .either drove the natives from the
Transvaal or reduced them to slavery, the higher civilization
driving out the lower.

This country, with its delightful climate, fertile soil, forests of
valuable timber, mines of precious metals, and large deposits of
coal, will continue to draw large numbers of emigrants from
England. Further disturbance is therefore sure to arise unless
the Boers give the Uitlanders the civil rights they claim, and these
once secured, it is inevitable that the British flag will float over
the Transvaal.

Other gold veins are worked in various places on the territory
of the chartered company. Buluwayo, in November, 1893, the
chief kraal of Lobengula, has now a population of 4,000, and
is the center of one of the gold fields. None of these fields has
thus far proved j)rofitable, but there is every reason to believe
that gold will be found in great abundance.

There are political movements which politicians do not initiate ;
revolutions accomplished without statesmen or captains. In
these we look in vain for a master-mind, acting either alone or
with others. Not the least significant are the changes efl’ectod
by the discovery of gold. The middle of the century witnessed
a wonderful flevelopment in the United States and Australia;
its close promises to witness an even greater revolution in South
Africa.

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AFRICA SINCE 1888

ABYSSINIA

We will now turn from the Transvaal to Ab5’'ssinia and the
Italian jiossessions on the Red sea, where Italy is engaged in
what may prove to be a life-and-death struggle.

Abyssinia, or Ethiopia, as it was formerly called, is the most
elevated plateau of Africa. The coast of the Red sea is here low,
dry, and utterly devoid of vegetation, consisting of great sand
wastes, only relieved by alkali plains,, salt marshes and salt lakes,
hot, and most unhealth3^ A traveler, writing of this region, sa}'’s ;
“ The country is a parched, desolate region ; the climate an inten-
sified, perpetual, torrid heat; the rainfall one or more terrific
thunder-storms in the year; the occupation of the inhabitants
tending scanty and wretched flocks and herds, watching the ap-
})roach of enemies ; their fears always alive for sudden death >
their hopes for peace.’’

The ground rises abruptly to the height of nine or ten thou-
sand feet, forming a steep mountain chain about six hundred
miles long, at first parallel to the Red sea, but near Massowah
the coast trends to the southeast, while the range continuas its
southerly course. Some of these mountains rise to the height
of sixteen thousand feet. Far away on the west the countiy
falls gradually to the Nile valley, and on the southwest to the
great lakes. The only access to this plateau from the Red sea
is up great gorges or canyons 1,000 to 3,000 feet in depth, each
canyon vaiying in width from two or three feet to one hun-
dred feet, with sudden turns shutting off the view beyond.
Down these canjmns in the wet season the water rushes with
great violence, bringing masses of stone and rock ; but the
greater part of the year they are diy, and the traveler must often
go from twenty to thirty miles without finding water. This
plateau when reached is not a level plain, but is broken and
tossed up b^’’ volcanic action, the mountains assuming wild fan-
tastic forms, with abrupt, precipitous valleys, only accessible
through deep passes. The plateaus, between six thousand and
eight thousand feet above sea-level, are the temperate region,
never either veiy hot or very cold. Some of the canyons are so
deep that one can stand on the edge and, looking down, see at
one glance the vegetation of the frigid, temperate, and torrid
zones. The rivers flowing through these canyons act as barriers
to communication, instead of facilitating it. In this region the
Blue Nile rises and flow's through deep can}mns, falling about

AFRICA SINCE 1SS8

169

4,000 feet in less than three hundred miles and cutting Abyssinia
into Northern and Southern Ethiopia. The volume of this river
is increased from 6,000 cubic feet per second in the dry season
to 220,000 in the rain}'- season, and it carries down the earth from
these high lands to Egypt, which owes its prodigious fertility
to the Blue Nile.

From its elevation Abyssinia is healthy, and the climate is said
to be as salubrious as any on the globe. Th& valleys on the
western slope are fertile, producing abundant fruits and the vege-
tation of the temperate and tropical zones. Its lofty ranges are
the home of Abyssinians, Copts, Arabs, and Jews of the Cauca-
sian race — partially civilized tribes, once converted to Christi-
anity, and still calling themselves Christians. The people are
strong and active, but rude and barbarous. The different tribes
are generally at war with each other, but at present they are all
united under one ruler, who claims descent from the Queen of
Sheba.

During the ages many attempts have been made to conquer
the Abyssinians, but this has always been most difficult, as they
can only be reached either from Egypt up the valley of the Nile
or from the Red sea through one of the canyons. The latter has
been the route most usually attempted, with results generally
disastrous to the invader. The Ab}''ssinians, hidden in the clefts
of the mountains, behind the rocks and bushes, wait until the
enemy has reached a difficult part of the canyon before attack-
ing him. The most notable exception was in 1868, when the
British, under Sir R. Napier, marched through one of these
canjmns, captured Magdala, and took prisoner King Theodore ;
but at that time Theodore had by his atrocities alienated the
other chiefs and tribes, and through their aid the British passed
up the canyon without opposition. It was in one of these can-
yons that the Abyssinians, under Menelek, the Negus Negus or
King of Kings, as their emperor is called, lying in ambush,
recently surprised and completely routed the Italians. It is said
that the Aby.ssinian army of one hundred thousand men was
sui>])lied with the best i*e})eating rifles ]>y the French and Rus-
sians, and was aided by French officers.

The Russians have recently sent an embassy to Abyssinia
and received an ambassador from that country, and negotia-
tions are in progress to bring the Abyssinians into the Greek
church.

About twenty years ago the Egyptians occupied the whole of

170

AFRICA SINCE 18S8

tlie upper Nile, even to the Gi*eat Lakes and the valley of the
Red sea. Ab}’ssinia lay between these possessions, and the
Khedive desired to conquer it. He sent two large armies, which
marched up the eastern branches of the Nile to Abyssinia ; both
armies were defeated. The son of the Khedive, in command of
the second army, was captured with a large number of men,
but was subsequently ransomed.

A Mohammedan, born in Dongola, calling'himself El Mahdi —
i. e., the leader, prophet, or guide — appeared in the Sudan about
1880, and raised the flag of the Prophet on a small island in the
Nile near Khartum. Soon Arabs from the desert joined him, and
later the Bedouins flocked from all parts of Egypt. About the
same time Arabi Pasha, then an officer in the Egyptian army,
cons{)ired with El Mahdi and seized Cairo, the Khedive and
English retiring to Alexandria. Sir Garnet Wolseley was sent
to command the English and Indian armies, and at the battle
of Tel-el-Kebir, September, 1882, Arabi was defeated and taken
]>risoner. He was subsequently sent to Ceylon, but the disaffec-
tion in the upper Nile continued to extend, and soon the whole
population of the Sudan and upper Nile was gathered under
the banner of the prophet El Mahdi. He defeated four expedi-
tions, and in 1883 General Hicks Pasha, with an Anglo-Egyptian
army of 10,000, was sent against him. They marched into the
desert, and for months nothing was heard of the expedition, then
slowly the news of its annihilation reached Cairo. In June El
Mahdi ca]>tured Khartum, killing General Gordon a few days '
])efore General Wolseley with the English army came in sight of
the city — too late. They returned without even attempting to
avenge his death.

El Mahdi died a few months later, but his army was not dis-
])ersed. Osman Digna, the general of the Mahdists, overran the
region east of the Nile, ca])turing and massacring Egyptian
garrisons at different places and marching to the very gates of
Suakin on the Red Sea, where the Mahdists desired to have a sea-
port for communication with Arabia, in order to obtain a good
market for slaves from the interior of Africa. With these
INIahdists the Italians have now to contend. Soon after their
occupation of Massowah they acquired control of Tigre and
Kassala, then held by the Mahdists and Dervishes. These
fanatics, encouraged by the defeat of the Italians, are now said
to be preparing to attack Kassala.

The English, for the purjjose of aiding the Italians and re-

AFRICA SINCE ISSS

171

covering the valley of the upper Nile, wrested from Egypt by
the Mahdists ten years ago, have sent a body of English troops,
with an army of Sudanese and Egyptians, under English
officers, from Cairo up the Nile to Dongola, between the fourth
and fifth cataracts, in the expectation that the Mahdists and
Dervishes will be drawn from Kassala to attack the English. If
the latter are successful they will probably march up the valley
to Khartum. If they are unsuccessful it is feared that the
Mahdists will march down the valley to Cairo.

To an American it seems difficult to understand the reason
that led Italy to attempt the acquisition of such a territory in
Africa, and why Signor Crispi, under whose ministry it was
undertaken, should assert that “ colonial extension is a vital
question — the advantage which it brings not being translatable
into figures.”

Unfortunately for Signor Crispi it has been translated into
figures which show a large and serious deficit in Italian finances.

THE PHYSICAL FEATURES OF AFRICA AS THEY AFFECT ITS ECO-
NOMIC VALUE, FUTURE OCCUPATION, AND CIVILIZATION.

The growth and prosperity of a country depend on its forma-
tion, including its mountains, temperature, and rainfall, its
mineral and vegetable productions, and its facilities for inter-
communication.

Africa is unlike the other continents, especially in the uniform-
ity of its topography and in its temperature. It is a great penin-
sula, without islands, indentations, or harbors on its coast. This
difference is especially exemplified by the Mediterranean coasts
of Africa and Europe. The former is a long continued sand
beach, without a break and with only one or two good liarbors,
while on the European side are the great j)eninsulas of Sj)ain,
Italy, and Greece, everywhere indented with island-studded
seas and with bays and harbors.

Africa has a coastline of only 15,000 miles. If it was as long
as that of Euroi)e, in proportion to the size of the continent, it
would be 57,000 miles long.

The relief of the land, instead of being centered in long and
lofty mountain ranges, lias been spread over the (continent with
wonderful efiuality, forming high jilateaus, witli terraces to the
ocean, down which the water ruslies in rajiids or over high falls,
which render the great rivers impo.ssible of navigation. Notwith-

172

AFRICA SINCE 1888

standing this lack of long mountain ranges, its average altitude —
about 2,000 feet — is higher than that of the other continents.

The country" north of the equator presents a great similarity to
the country south of it, though the features on the north are on
a much larger scale. North of the equator is the greater lake
Chad, south of it the smaller lake Ngami ; north of lake Chad
is the great desert of Sahara ; south of lake Ngami is the small
desert of Kalahari. North of Sahara, on the Mediterranean, and
south of Kalahari, on the Indian ocean, are fertile tracts of
limited extent, where the rainfall is abundant and vegetation
flourishes.

The greater part of the territory between the Mediterranean
and Sudan and between the Atlantic and the Red sea, and a
considerable portion south of the Zambesi, comprising nearly
one-half of Africa, is practically Sahara — that is, a waste or desert.

The Sahara is a plateau of diversified structure, with hills and
numerous dried-up water-courses ; regions of dunes or steppes,
overgrown with alfa, alternating with sandy waste. At sunset
the temperature falls quickly, causing a difference of one hun-
dred degrees between day and night. Scattered through the
desert are about four hundred oa.ses, where the date palm flour-
ishes. In many places wells have been dug, and great caravans
follow the line of these oases and wells. The desert of Kalahari,
in South Africa, is much smaller, has a more temi^erate climate,
resembles our arid lands, and, like the latter region, is to a large
extent suitable for the pasturing of cattle.

Although Africa is about five thousand miles long and four
thousand five hundred miles wide in the broadest part, stretch-
ing over seventy degrees of latitude, about two-thirds of its area
lies within the tropics, with a vertical sun twice a year, giving it
the hottest climate in the world. The average temperature is
eighty degrees, while north and south of the tropics the average
temperature is only ten degrees less. In the tropics the climate
is so enervating and unhealthy for Europeans that they cannot
live there more than two or three years, while the same climate
is most favorable to the negro.

The Germans occupied the Kamerun, in western Africa, near
the equator, supposing that a great mountain rising fourteen
thousand feet directly from the ocean would prove an excellent
health resort; but the miasmatic vapors ascend the mountain
slopes and render it an unfit habitation for the European. The
rainfall in equatorial Africa is most abundant, from sevent\" to

AFRICA SINCE 1S88

1 1 3

one hundred inclies a }’ear, causing a hot, moist atmosphere and
a luxuriant vegetation. In this region the population is densest,
from the abundance of fruits and the ease with which life is sup-
ported. There is also a heavy rainfall in the mountains of Abys-
sinia, on the northwest coast of the ^Mediterranean and on the
southern and southeastern coasts, the rainfall diminishing toward
the central and western ^^arts of South Africa. As the rainfall
diminishes, the native jDopulation decreases. All the other con-
tinents have great rivers, forming waterways to and from the
interior. Africa has but one such river — the Niger. The Nile
and Kongo are, however, among the most remarkable rivers in
the world ; the Nile, for its history and inundations; the Kongo,
for the great number of its branches, navigable for small vessels
for several thousand miles. On this river and its branches there
are from forty to fifty stern-wheel steamers and about 100 sta-
tions, Avith from 600 to SOO white men in charge.

The Avhole trade of Africa, excepting that of Cape Colony and
the Mediterranean, is monopolized by great companies, and
where these do not exist, by smaller traders. This trade is most
profitable to Europeans, consisting largely in the exchange of
cheap cotton goods, beads, copper wire, in limited quantities,
and of rum, brandy, old arms, and ammunition, in large quanti-
ties, for ivory, india-ruV>ber, and other products.

The total amount of the annual exports and imports of Africa
other than from the Mediterranean and exclusive of gold, silver,
and diamonds is, however, scarcely equal to the annual foreign
trade of one of the large ports of the United States.

From this rCsume it appears that Africa produces abundantly
in the equatorial provinces, where the white man cannot live;
that there are not any good waterways from the interior to the
coast and fcAv good harbors when it is reached ; that the only
articles obtained from the natives are elei)hants’ tusks and the
fruits that grow spontaneously; that the only way of moving
products to and from the sea is by caravans, a slow and ex-
pensive method, precluding any extensive commerce. From this
it follows that the value of eipiatorial Africa is and must be for
a long time very small It is possible to build railroads into
the interior of efpiatorial .Vfrica, for one or two are now in opera-
tion in Portuguese West Africa, one is in j)rocess of construction
around the falls of the Kongo, and surveA's are being made in
eastern Africa, both by Englaml and by (lermany, and in north-
Avestern Africa by France; but it is doubtful if there is now suf-

174

AFEICA SIXCE 1SS8

ficient business to enable these roads to pay operating expenses,
nor can the trade be materially increased until the natives ac-
(piire the habits and wants of civilized life and are willing to
labor and raise the products that will grow in the tropics and
exchange them for the goods and wares of Europe and America.
This change is slowly taking jdace. The mercantile agencies
must and do employ native traders and native labor. All the
work in the tropics is performed by Africans ; men whose fathers
never saw or heard of white men are building railroads and tele-
graphs and carrying great loads from the interior to the coast ;
some are in suj)erior positions, in charge of stores and telegraph-
offices or steamboats ; some receive regular wages ; others are
paid in clothing or spirits.

The European can })robably live in the high plateaus of Abys-
sinia, in the Lake region, and in southern Africa, where, from
the elevation, he would have a Euro])ean or temperate climate.
Southeastern and central South Africa have a temperate climate,
are generally well watered, and the land is capable of cultiva-
tion b}’ irrigation. In this region the mineral wealth is large,
and it is connected with the Indian ocean and South Atlantic by
railroads now in operation. There seems to be no physical cause
to ]irevent these regions from becoming the homes of numbers
of Euro{)eans beside the present occupants.

In America the Indians or natives have invariably given ]dace
to the white man and have been generally exterminated. Will
tlie negroes or natives of Africa retire before the European ? Let
us consider South Africa tlie ])ortion of the continent most favor-
able to tbe white man. The slave trade and the constant wars
between the natives have been stopped ; the Kaffirs have ex-
clianged the brutal rule of the savage for the beneficent govern-
ment of the Euro]>ean, and have l)ecome freemen, endowed with
an absolute title to their homes and to any ipro}ierty they may
acquire. They cultivate the fields of the Boer ; they work in
the diamond and gold mines; the}’ own large herds of cattle,
and, compelled to give up their nomad life, the}’ have com-
menced tilling the ground for themselves.

Instead of white day laborers, as in Europe and America, the
English in South Africa employ the Kaffir. As a result the native
population is increasing with accelerated rapidity. It is already
many times more numerous than the European and the disparity
is constantly and rapidly increasing. The Kaffir lives more
cheaply and works for less wages than the white man. The only

GEOGRAPHIC RELATION OF THE THREE AMERICAS 175

Europeans required, or for whom there is room or occupation,
are the OAvner and the OA’erseer, the mechanic and tlie engineer.
In another generation the Kaffir Avill fill most of these places,
and there Avill l)e no Avork or ])Osition in the interior for the
Englishman. The capitalist, the manufacturer, the merchant,
and the trader will liA’e in the cities.

First the Hottentots AAxre expelled by the Bantus ; then the
Bantus AA'ere drh'en into the interior by the Boers ; the Boer in
his turn giA^es AA'ay to the Englishman onl}" to be ejected by the
Kaffir AA'hen he has learned to AAmrk.

What is true of the Kaffir holds good to a less extent of the
Bantus and negro tribes in Equatorial Africa. The Arab slaA'e
dealer has been shorn of his poAA^er ; the slaA^e trade has been
generally stopped, and with that the prime cause of the interne-
cine wars. WhereA’er the European rule is established and peace
assured, improA'ement soon appears in the habits and character
of the people, AAuth a A’ery rapid increase of the population.

The Arab, Bantu, and negro must occupy the equatorial re-
gions of Africa, because the white man cannot liA^e there, and they
will then, I belieA-e, driA’e out the Europeans from the remainder
of the continent and we shall see a race A’astly superior to any
Africans now there and in some respects suiierior to the white
man.

FUNDAMENTAL GEOGRAPHIC RELATION OF THE
THREE AMERICAS

By Robert T. Hill,

United Stntea Geological Snrveg

The earl\' geographers taught that the two American conti-
nents are i»ractically dominated l)y a continuous cordilleran
system, running like a liackbone through South America, Central
America, and North America, connecting the Avhole AA'estern
l)order of the hemisphere into one great mountain system.
Modern exi)loration shoAVs that this teaching must be modified.

The Andean cordilleran belt dominating the AA’estern coast
of South America trifurcates after crossing the equator, l)euds
slightly eastAvard, and abruptly terminates in northern Colom-
l>ia. Oidy one doubtful s[»ur of the Andes touches the coast of
the .Vmerican .Mediterranean, and this is the Sierra del Marta,

176 GEOGRAPHIC RELATION OF THE THREE AMERICAS

lying between the gulf of Maracaibo and Rio ^lagdalena. This
northern end of the Andes lies entirely west of the Isthmian
region and is separated from it by Rio Atrato. Minute study
shows that the Andean system has no genetic connection with
the mountains of the northern coast of South America, much
less with the mountains of Central America or the great Rocky
Mountain region of Mexico and the United States; in fact, the
deeply eroded valley of this stream nearly severs the Isthmian
region and the Pacific coast of the Republic of Colombia from
the South American continent.

The studies of many geographers, especially those recently
conducted by Felix and Lenk, have shown that the main cor-
dilleran system of Mexico, which is the southern continuation
of the R(^cky Mountain region of the United States, abruptly
terminates with the great scarp or “abfall” of the so-called
plateau a little south of the capital of the Republic, and that
these mountains have no orographic features in common with
those of the Central American region lying further southward.
The axes of the two great North American and South American
cordilleras, the Rocky mountains and the Andean sy.stem, if
projected from their termini in Colombia and southern Mexico,
respectively, would not connect through Central America, but
would pa.ss each other in parallel lines many hundred miles
apart. The projected Andes would pass through Jamaica and
ea.stern Cuba and continue east of the longitude of the whole
Appalachian system in the direction of Nova Scotia ; the south-
ward continuation of the North American cordilleras would cross
the equator in the Pacific, far west of Central America and the
South American continent.

Between the widely separated termini of the main North
American and South American cordilleras as above defined, and
extending directly across their trend at right angles to them, lies
another great orogenic system of folds, to which the term An-
tillean has been applied. Collectively they constitute a great
orogenic system which has been of the utmost importance in
giving to the Caribbean region its predominant outline.s — a
system composed of corrugations having an east-west trend,
which has never been appreciated by the geologist or geog-
rapher owing to the overwhelming proportions of the adjacent
mountains built up by volcanic ejecta. They extend along the
Venezuelan and Colombian coast of South America, north of the
Orinoco, the isthmus of Panama, Costa Rica, and the eastern

GEOGRArmC RELATION OF THE THREE AMERICAS 177

SURROUNDING LANDS.

178 GEOGRAPHIC RELATION OF THE THREE AMERICAS

parts of Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras, Yucatan, Chiapas,
and southern Oaxaca, and through the Great Antilles. These
mountains are made up of granites, eruptives, and folded sedi-
mentary rocks of Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic age in
Guatemala and southern Mexico ; of Mesozoic and Cenozoic
age in the Antilles, Costa Rica, Venezuela, and Colombia; and
of Cenozoic age in Panama.

The two elongated submarine ridges Ghe so-called Mistero.sa
and Rosalind banks) stretching across the Caribbean from the
Antilles to the Central American coast, between the Sierra Mae--
tro of Cuba and the gulf of Honduras, and from Jamaica to cape
Gracios a Dios respectively, separated by the sulimarine valley,
18,000 feet in depth, known as “ Bartlett Deep,” have a suggestive
and remarkable resemblance to these east-west corrugations of
the land ; indeed Seebach long since suggested that these ridges
directly connected the mountains of the Antilles with those of
Guatemala and Honduras.

Thus the Caribbean sea is almost entirely surrounded by the
east-west trending mountains and submarine ridges of the Antil-
lean type; the Windward islands, marking the eastern inlet of
the sea, are largely volcanic necks.

A distinct class of mountains, independent of great lines of
folding of the earth-crust, are the volcanoes. These have grown
by e.xtrusion and accumulation; .sometimes they are parasitic
on the folded mother-sy.stems, sometimes independent of them.
They belong to the great area of igneous activity which, since at
least as earl\' as the beginning of Tertiary time, has marked the
whole we.stern half of the North American continent, the Carib-
bean, and the northern and we.stern sides of the Andean region.
Although they blend, the volcanic ejecta of this great belt may be
classified for convenience in two distinct age categories, which
may he called the quiescent and the active volcanic groups.

The active volcanic groups occur in four widely separated
regions; 1. The Andean group of volcanoes of the equatorial
region of western South America, rising above the corrugated
folds of the northern termination of the predominant South
American cordilleras. 2. The chain of some twenty-five great
cinder cones which stretch east and west across the southern
end of the Mexican plateau, protruding parasite-like upon the
terminus of the North American cordilleras. 3. The Central
American group, with its thirty-one active craters, growing diago-
nally across the western ends of the east-west folds of the Antil-

GEOGRAPHIC RELATION OF THE THREE AMERICAS 179

lean corrugations, which fringes the Pacific side of Guatemala,
San Salvador, and Costa Rica ; this is separated from the Mexi-
can group on the north by a large non-volcanic area (the isthmus
of Tehuantepec), and from the Andean volcanoes on the south
by an area (the isthmus of Panama) in which no living volcanoes
are found. 4. The chain of volcanoes of the Windward islands,
marking the eastern gate of the Caribbean sea and standing in a
line directly across the eastern termini of the Antillean mountains
of east-west trend, parallel to theCentral American group similarly
situated at the western termini of these mountains. In recent
times all these giants of fire have built up vast piles of lava
and cinder into lofty summits, which overwhelm in topographic
grandeur the lesser but more significant orographic features of
the region.

The quiescent volcanic regions, where activity was dominant
chiefly in Tertiary time, but ceased long ago, are many. The
isthmus of Panama, the Pacific coast of South America west of
the Atrato, the northern coast of South America, and the old
volcanic regions of northern Mexico and the United States are
among these. There can be little doubt that the tremendous
outbursts of igneous material in Tertiary time, which domi-
nated western Xorth America, extended in a great belt around
the southern end of the North American cordilleras, crossing
the Caribbean area to the Atlantic between the two continents.

The North American cordilleran region lying north of the
isthmus of Tehuantepec is one of north-south folded sediment-
aries, plus accumulations of volcanic intrusions and ejecta (chiefiy
Tertiary), and dominates a continental area.

The Andean region of the South American continent is one of
north-south folded sedimentaries, plus accumulations of Tertiary
volcanic intrusions and ejecta, and dominates a continental area.

The Caril)l)ean region, including Central America, the Antilles
and the Windward islands, and most of the Venezuelan and
Colombian coast of South America, is one of east-west folded
sedimentaries, plus accumulations of volcanic intrusions and
ejecta, but, instead of dominating a continental region, pradicalhj
constitutes a mouittniaous perimeter surroniulluff the depressed basin
of the Oirlhhean. These mountains were mostly made about the
close of Tertiary time, and hence are newer than the chief con-
tinental systems.

Upon this arrangement of the three systems of mountain folds
are chiefly dei^endent the great physical ditlenaices l)ctween

180 GEOGRAPHIC RELATION OF THE THREE AMERICAS

the lands bordering the gulf of Mexico and Caribbean sea ; the
former in its geognostic aspects and relations is North American,
while the latter is distinctly Central American.

Tlie gulf of Mexico, with the single exception of its extreme
southwestern indentation of the coast of Mexico, is surrounded
l)v gently tilted plains, composed of great sheets of sul)horizontal
sediment, largely dej)osited by its own waters when the}' occu-
})ied a larger area tlian at present.

The Central American region as above outlined — i. e., that
l)ortion of tlie American hemisphere extending from the south-
ern termination of the Rocky Mountain region to the northern
termination of the South American Andes, including the south-
ern border of Mexico, the Republics of Central America, and the
isthmus of Panama proper — constitutes the western perimeter
of the circle of mountains inclosing the Caribbean. As a whole
it is called by some writers the American Isthmian region,* and
can be genetically separated into two conspicuous regions :
1. The recent volcanic plateau lying nearer the Pacific coast
from its commencement in Guatemala to its eastern termination
in Costa Rica, which is composed of accumulated material ex-
truded across the western termini of the Antillean trends. 2. The
lower but nevertheless mountainous iiortions of the Caribbean
side, composed of folded mountain-axes extending east-west in
conformable direction with the Antillean uplifts, accompanied
by old eruptive extrusions of past geologic time. The most
cons])icuous eminences are the grand volcanic peaks of Guate-
mala, San Salvador, and Costa Rica. These rise to an average
height of 10,000 feet, in irregular masses standing nearer the
Pacific coast than the Atlantic until reaching the borders of
C’osta Rica, Avhen they sweep diagonally toward the Caribbean
side, again assuming in the southern j)ortion of that republic a
central continental position. These great eminences are built
up of accumulations of volcanic debris, which have buried and
largely concealed a most interesting antecedent geologic structure
that must be interpreted before the complete history of the re-
gion can be written. These mountains, being largely extrusions
of volcanic material instead of regular folds or })lications of
stratified rock, ])roduce irregularities of surface which defy the
ordinary modes of classification.

* The conspicuous features of this greater Isthmian (Central American) region are
its narrow, elongated outlines relative to the bro.idening areas of the adjacent conti-
nent and the completely mountainous character of its entire area, which is void of
coastal plains.

THE KANSAS RIVER

181

The western termini of the east-west Antillean axes of the
Caribbean half of Central America, which are buried in western
Guatemala, Honduras, and Costa Rica by the overlying volcanic
masses, are not so limited on the Pacific side, but continue across
Panama. On entering this state from Costa Rica signs of recent
volcanic activity cease, and the continuity of the chain of high
Central American summits is succeeded by the still more broken
and apparently inexplicable lower-lying Isthmian topography.

The isthmus of Panama can now be accurately defined as the
stretch of land l3ung east of the southern end of the Central
American region of active volcanoes (commonly called the Costa
Rican volcanic plateau) and extending to the northern termi-
nation of the Andes. Its limit on the east is Rio Atrato, which
flows northward from the equator along the valley marking the
eastern flank of the Andes ; on the west it is limited b}' the
southern boundary of the republic of Costa Rica, extending
from Burica Point to the island of Veraguas and thence between
the meridians of 79° 15' and 82° for a distance of 180 miles.
The axial trend of the Isthmian region is east and west, or in a
direction contrary to the north and south continental trends,
and is conformable with the Antillean axes.

The Great Antilles lie along the line of east-west corrugations
and a]:>parently represent nodes of greater elevation whereby the
surfaces of these islands were projected above the waters as
islands, which have persisted without continental connection or
union with each other since their origin.

[XoTE.— The foregoing article is published by permission of Professor Agassiz, under
whose auspices the writer conducted his investigations in the region described.]

THE KANSAS RIVER

By Arthur P. Davis
United Slnles Geoloijiad Survey

The Kansas river jtroper is formed bv the junction of the
Smok}' Hill and Rcpultlican forks, at Fort Rile}', in Davis county,
Kansas, about 140 miles from where it enijttics into the Mis-
souri. It is OIK! of the liest exani])les of ;i western stream whose
drainage lies entirely in a jdains region, with no mountain tribu-
taries. Its basin extends from eastern C’olorado to the Missouri

182

THE KAXSAS RIVER

river, a distance of 485 miles, with an extreme width of nearly
200 miles. The total area drained, as measured from the latest
drainage maps of the General Land Office, is 61,440 square miles,
of which 34,526 are in Kansas, 17,454 in Nebraska, and 9,459 in
Colorado.

The altitude of the basin varies from 750 feet at Kansas City
to over 5,000 feet in Colorado, the average being about 2,500 feet.
The area is distributed with reference to elevation as follows;

Under 1,000 feet 1,250 square miles.

Between 1,000 and 2,000 feet 20,200 “ “

“ 2,000 and 3,000 feet 11,300 “

“ .3,000 and 4,000 feet 12,560 “

“ 1,000 and 5,000 feet .5,020 “

Over 5,000 feet 1,510 “

Gauge readings have been carried on for several years at the
mill dam at Lawrence by the mill owner. Sufficient measure-
ments have not yet been made to establish a mean annual flow.
Tlie minimum discharge is )>rohably a little over 500 second-feet.
The mean annual rainfall of this basin varies with approximate
regularity from almutten inches at its western extremity to nearly
forty inches at the Missouri river, averaging perhaps twenty
inches. It will be seen, therefore, that this basin reverses the
conditions of the typical western stream wdiich rises in the moun-
tains, where the precipitation is great, and carries its abundant
waters into the arid plains, where the smaller tributaries can be
used one l)y one, as the,y leave the mountains, to irrigate the plain.

Rising as they do, in the most arid portion of the basin, and
draining a sand}" country of gentle slope, the streams, except at
the rainiest times, are almost insignificant in size until they
reach the region where the precipitation is sufficient for the re-
quirements of agriculture. They thus attain a considerable vol-
ume only in the eastern part of the State, where irrigation is not
imjierative, and where, moreover, nearly all the water is concen-
trated in one stream so large and with so gentle a slope that its
diversion for commercial purposes is impracticable. If tbe rain-
tall conditions of the Kansas basin could be reversed, with a forty-
iuch preci]ntation in eastern Colorado, decreasing to one of ten
inches at the Missouri, its irrigation possibilities would be in-
creased many fold.

Three principal rivers flow directly into the Kansas ; the Blue,
from the north ; the Republican, from the north\vest, and the
Smoky Hill, from the west. The Blue has a drainage of 9,490

THE KANSAS RIVER

183

square miles, of which 2,450 are in Kansas and 7,040 in Ne-
braska. In volume of water the Blue river is by far the most
important of the tributaries of the Kansas. The discharge of
this river is being measured by the Geological Survey at Rocky-
ford, about five miles above its mouth, and the minimum has
been found to be about 300 cubic feet per second.

The next stream in order, and also in amount of water deliv-
ered, is the Republican, draining an area of 25,837 square miles,
and showing a minimum flow, as observed at Junction City, of
about 200 cubic feet per second. It will be noticed that though
draining over two and one-half times as large an area as the Blue,
its discharge at low water is only two-thirds as great as that of
the latter stream. This is due to the fact that the Blue drains
the northern and eastern parts of the basin, where the rainfall is
heaviest, Avhile the Republican rises at the western extremit}' of
the drainage area and flows for hundreds of miles through arid
sand hills that yield very little run-off, except in times of ex-
cessive rainfall. No part of its basin receives a precipitation
equal to the average of the basin of the Blue; so, although the
basins adjoin each other and the rivers empty within twenty
miles of each other, the ratio of run-off to area is over four times
as great for the Blue as for the Republican.

The Smoky Hill river rises in eastern Colorado and drains an
area of 20,428 square miles. It has two considerable tributaries,
the Saline and the Solomon, draining respectively 3,311 and
6,882 .square miles. Gauging stations have been estal)lished on
all three of tliese streams. The station at Ellsworth, on tlie
Smoky Hill, intercepts the drainage of 7,980 square miles, of
which 6.447 are in Kansas and 1,533 in Colorado. A minimum
discharge of only 10 cubic feet per second sometimes occurs at
this i)oint. At the gauge on the Saline river at Beverly the area
drained is 2,730 square miles, and a low-water discharge of 20
second-feet is shown. The gauge on the Solomon is at Beloit.
4'he area draining ])ast this ))oint is 5,539 sfpiare miles, and the
low-water flow is 140 cubic feet jier second.

There are many water-power develo))inents in the Kansas
basin, the most numerous and important occurring on the Solo-
mon and Blue rivers. These develo])ments are, however, in their
infancy, only a small ])roportlon of the favorable sites being im-
jiroved. The fidlowing summary of the i)ower in use in this
basin, taken from the reports on the Whiter Power of the United
States, published by the 4’enth Census, vol. xvii. page 361, ex-

184

GEOGRAPHIC LITERATURE

hibits the importance of this river and its tributaries to the local
industries rapidly being developed upon the Great Plains:

Stream.

Tributary to what.

State.

Number of mills.

Total fall used.

Horse-power of
wheels.

Kansas

^lissouri

Kansas

317

Delaware.. ...

Kansas

... do

377

Big Blue. .

. . .do

Kan. and Neb.

103

1,022

Little Blue

Big Blue

1:1

1034

637

M ost Fork Blue.

. . .do

Nebraska

340

iS’ortli Fork Blue.

. . . do

242

Smokv Hill

Kansas

594

442

Snlomon

Smokv Ilill

. , .do

984

North Fork Solo-

Solomon

. . .do

moil.

104

298

South Fork Solo-

. . .do

, . .do

moil.

114

Saline

Smokv Hill

. . . do

199

Ki’publican

Kansas

Kan. and Neb.

Prairie Dog

Republican

. . . do

152

Sundry small

Kansas and tribu-

...do

4864

1,408

streams.

taries.

Total, Kansas river and all tributaries

145

1,345

6,561

GEOGRAPHIC LITERATURE

I)E LAPPAREXt’s LE90XS DE GEOGRAPHIE PHYSIQUE

Lcrniis de Geographie physique. By A. de Lapparent. Pp. 590, with many
illustrations, maps, and diagrams. Paris : Masson et Cie. 1896.

IM. A. de Lapparent, ju-ofessor in tlie Ecole libre de hcmtes etudes in Paris
and lately jnesident of the French Geographical Society, lays us under
many oldigations by the iireparation of this valuable work. An accom-
jilished field geologist, as evinced, for example, in his monograph on the
peculiar deformation in the Paris basin known as the Pays de Braj’ ;
author of a compendious treatise on geology, the leading work of its kind
in the French language ; a presiding otficer as notable for his courteous
tact as for his competence in his subject, he now discloses a close acrpiaint-
ance with a line of study that as yet is hardly acclimated in Europe,
namely, the American science of geomorphology, whose principles and
name he adopts together. Although his references to American sources
overweight the relative importance of contributions from certain quarters,
he has clearly seized the essentials of the rational as against the empirical
method of geographical description. The initial forms iiroduced by

GEOGRAPHIC LITERATURE

185

uplift, deformation, or other genetic processes, the succeeding work of the
agencies of erosion, the control of dissection by the effective baselevel,
the gradual and sj'^stematic progress in dissection as determined by the
advance in time through the geographical cycle, and the termination of
the normal uninterrupted cycle, of erosion in a plain or peneplain of sub-
aerial denudation, all these and many other essential features of the
American treatment are succinctly presented. Numerous illusti’ative ex-
amples, largely taken from European sources, are presented ; these being
of particular value to our students of the subject, who are naturally more
familiar with American occurrences. Following the statement of general
and special principles, there comes an account of Europe in particular and
of the world in less detail, which is, I believe, the first serious attempt to
treat areal geography in this fashion. Local geomorphological studies
have been attempted elsewhere, but no one has hitheido undertaken to
discuss the physical geography of the world on these new lines. It goes
without saying that the treatment must be very unequal, for the physiog-
raphy of many parts of the world is now as little known as the fauna and
flora of the remoter regions were known a century ago.

It is manifest from an examination of this book, as well as from the
study of various other sources, that the morphology of mountains is in a
much less advanced state than that of simpler structures. Students of
the subject will therefore do well to give particular attention to remedy-
ing this deficiency. At present we read frequently about the height and
length of ranges, about the rocks of which they are composed, and about
the influence of mountains on climate, both local and adjacent, as well
as about their control of the character and distribution of plants and
animals, but it is very seldom that any critical or detailed morphological
account is given of the mountains themselves. Their forms are so various,
so ungeometrical, that they have not yet been reduced to system and
embodied in a satisfactory terminology, indicative of structure on the one
hand and of stage of destructional development on the other. Thus de
Lapparent’s account of the concentric escarpments of the Paris basin is
more systematically complete than his description of the Pyrenees ; a
clearer idea is given of the topography characterizing the simplified forms
of the old mountains of the middle Rhine than of the complicated forms
of the still vigorous Alps. This is not to be avoided in the present stage
of the science, but nothing will aid more in carrying us past this stage
than the preparation of sound general treatises like the one l)efore us.
Its periLsal must turn many students toward further investigation, and
new investigators are greatly needed.

In the matter of citations, the author has been sparing, but this is to
be the less regretted on account of the exhaustive bibliographic treatment
of geomorphology in I’enck’s recent MorphoUxjie der Erdoherjldchc vols.,
Stuttgart, 18!)4). The latter book i>resents an exceptionally full account
of the historical development of physical geography, while the former
pre.sents a concise acciumt of its present advanced condition, and thus
the two works comi)lement each other very satisfactorily.

Whether in [)reparation for a tri|> abroad or for use in study and teach-
ing at home, de Lapjiarent’s Lxcom must prove very acceptable to Ameri-
can geographers. W. M. Davis.

18G

GEOGRAPHIC LITERATURE

ANNUAL REPOKT OK THE SUPERINTENDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY

This report is still in the hands of the Public Printer, but bj' the
courtesy of Gen. W. W. Duffield, Sui)erintendent of the Survey, The
National Geogiiaimiic ^Magazine is permitted to present its readers with
the following summary of its contents :

Tlie report covers the fiscal year ending June 30, 1895. It gives the
progress of the work in the field and office with the customary detail,
and the necessary references to several boundary surveys and other
special surveys of precision of the class usually assigned to this bureau.

Upwards of seventy-five parties were actively engaged in the various
branches of the field operations. Work was carried on within the limits
or on the coasts of sixteen states and territories along the seaboard and
in nine states and territories in the interior. It included reconnaissance,
base-line measures, triangulation, topography, hydrography, physical
hydrography ; time, latitude, longitude, and azimuth determinations ;
boundary-line surveys, geodetic leveling; magnetic declination, dip and
intensity observations ; laying out meridian lines, gravity determina-
tions ; tidal and current observations ; oyster-bed surveys, etc.

Among the surveys of special importance are the completion of the
topographic and hydrographic resurvey of Boston harbor and vicinity ;
the beginning of the resurvey of Buzzards bay ; the continuation of the
telegraphic longitude determinations in the southwest ; the progress on
the traiLSContinental triangulation in Colorado and the oblique arc in
Alal)ama; points furnished in aid of state surveys in Tennessee, Ken-
tucky, New Jersey and Minnesota; the completion of the I’econnaissance
of the Kio Grande from its mouth to El Paso; the completion of the re-
survey of Pensacola bay and its tributaries ; the surveys for the location
of the boundary line Iietween southeastern Alaska and British Columbia ;
the survey of the California oblique boundary line and the topographic
and hydrographic resurvey of San Francisco bay and harbor.

Tlie line of preci.se spirit-levels from tidewater was continued to Kansas
City, and the usual progress was made in surveying those portions of the
coasts not yet fully charted, including the channels of Washington sound,
the strait of Fuca, and the hydrographic development of the intricate
channels of the .Alexander archipelago in southeast Alaska.

The report records the death of Lieut. F. H. Crosby and four men en-
gaged in the prosecution of the field work, who were drowned while
attempting to land through the surf on the coast of Washington. This
is commented upon as the most serious casualty that has hapiiened to any
of the field parties of the Survey since the loss of the Walker in 185G.

In accordance with the provisions of law, one of the assistants has con-
tinued to serve as a member of the Mississippi River Commission, and
another, by appointment of the President, is a member of the Interna-
tional Boundary Commission, organized for the location of that part of the
United States and IMexican boundary line extending from El Paso to the
Pacific. At the request of the Secretary of the Navy two assistants were
temporarily detailed, one for special triangulation in connection with

GEOGRAPHIC LITERATURE

187

marking the speed trial course in Long Island sound, and the other for a
survey on a large scale of the vicinity of the dry dock at Port Orchard,
Puget sound. Assistants were detailed during the j^ear at the i-equest of
the Governor of Virginia for surveys of the Virginia oyster beds, and a
special survey of the Fox islands, Chesapeake bay, for the settlement of
some questions of riparian rights, and at the request of the Commissioner
of Fish and Fisheries to make further examination of the oyster beds in
Mobile bay and vicinity. The detail of an assistant for the Massachusetts
State town boundary survey also continued during the greater part of the
year. The surve}'S for the location of the boundary between Alaska and
British Columbia, that have been conducted by the Superintendent for
several years past in his capacity as commissioner on the part of the
United States, were continued during the season of available working
weather, and the parties organized in the spring of 1895 completed all the
work necessary for the compilation of the maps required. Under the
head of special surveys, mention is also made of the act of Congress of
August 1, 1894, requiring the Superintendent to lay out a circle around
the new Naval Observatory for the deflection of the street extensions of
the city ; the work was duly completed and the results with maps show-
ing location delivered to the Navy Department.

The report of operations in the otflce is given in great detail. The pub-
lications of the Survej’’ relate essentially to the navigation of the coasts
of the United States; but in the preparation of the tide tables for the
new year a commendable departure seems to have been made by includ-
ing ]>redictions for the principal ports of the w'orld. Seventy-five new
charts were issued and one hundred and twenty-eight charts were revised
and reissued. The new chart publications complete the series of the
Atlantic and Gulf coasts on the uniform scale of 1 : 400,000, designed
especially for the use of navigators, and the series on the coast of INIaine
on the large scale of 1 : 40,000, designed for the safe navigation of the in-
tricate jjassages of that broken and rock-bound coast. The distribution of
charts during the year is reported at 51,450 copies, more than half the
number having been sold by the agents in the princijial maritime cities.
There were also distributed 114,000 copies of tbe monthly notices to mai i-
ners, describing the important hydrographic develoi)inents and changes
in aids to navigation on tlie coasts of the United States.

The “ Bureau of Standard Weiglits ami ISIeasures,” whicii is also under
the direction of the Superintendent (jf the Survey, reports that duplicate
setsof.standanls liad l)een furnished the states of North and South Dakota,
besides tlie customary routine work. Reference is also made to the new
Kilo 1)alance of precision recently obtaiiu'd by the Burcuui. It is a dui)li-
cate of the balance of the International Bureau and is tlie second brought
to this country. The otlier is in the Smithsonian Institution and was
used Ijy I’rofe.ssor Morley in tlie determination of atomic weights. The
special features of these balances are auxiliary devices which enable the
observer to note the oscillations of the beam from a distance and to inter-
change the weights uiion the scale- pans without approaching the balance.
The probable error of a single weighing with a load of one kilogramme is
only ± 0“*.()2:i().

188

MISCELLANEA

In presenting his estimates for the next year the Superintendent urges
a moderate increase in the api^ropriation for field work as necessary to
the rapid and economical prosecution of the surveys urgently demanded
in the interests of commerce along our coasts, and for the advancement
of other imi)Ortant field operations of the survey, which, he states, are
found to be impracticable with the amount appropriated for the current
year. The estimates contemplate resurveys of several important harbors
on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts ; also the commencement of a survey
of the Aleutian islands and an examination of the mouths of the Yukon
river in Alaska in addition to the work in progress.

Besides the publications referring to nautical matters, the survey issues
bulletins at irregular intervals intended to impart advance information
on new discoveries or other matter relating to the survey ; and appendices
to the report of the Superintendent giving scientific results and other de-
velopments incidental to the progress of the work. Four bulletins were
issued during the year and the report has appendices on the following
subjects : The Secular Variation in Direction and Intensity of the Earth’s
Magnetic Force in the United States and Some Adjacent Countries ; Ob-
servations of the Transit of Mercury at Washington in 1894 ; Results of
Latitude and Longitude Determinations in Alaska ; Physical Hydrog-
raphy, Nantucket, Mass. ; Notes on the Specific Gravity of the Waters of
the Gulf of ^lexico and the Gulf Stream ; A Graphic Method of Reducing
Stars from ^lean to Apparent Places ; A Description of Improved Leveling
Rods and a Report on the New Kilo Balance of Precision.

Herbert G. Ogdex.

MISCELLANEA

In Santo Domingo important governmental concessions have been
granted to an American corporation. From Puerto Plata, a seaport of
18,000 inhabitants, at which from 12 to 15 steamers enter monthly, a rail-
road is being constructed to Santiago and Mora.

American capitalists have purchased the entire street-railway system
of the city of ^Mexico, comprising 100 miles of broad gauge and 60 miles
of narrow gauge, over which seventeen and one-half millions of passen-
gers were carried in 1895. Electric traction and other improvements are
contemplated.

Two summer courses in physiography will be given by Professor W. ^I.
Davis at Harvard University, beginning July 3 and lasting six weeks.
The chief object of the elementary course is to promote the change in the
method of teaching geography so generally advocated in recent j’ears,
and the lectures will be supplemented by laboratory work and excursions.
The advanced course will be specially adai)ted to the needs of those
already well grounded in the elements of physiograpln\ The admirable
library and laboratory resources of the university will be available for the
use of students, and as the fee for either course is only §20, there should
be a large attendance.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE

GRAND CANON

OF THE YELLOWSTONE

NORTHERN PACIFIC

Send SIX CENTS for our New TOURIST BOOK

CHAS. S. FEE, Qen. Pass. AKent,

St. Paul, Minn

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE

4=1

A JAUNT INTO MEXICO.

Twenty }'ears ago Mexico was practically a closed countr\' to
the tourist from the United States. Then , the facilities for
transportation were such that the journey into the quaint land
lying to the South of us implied weeks of arduous travel, which
only those inured to hardships could stand. Now, the tourist
gets into his Pullman Sleeper at New Orleans and the Southern
Pacific quickly lands him in “the land of the afternoon.” The
way leads through the beautiful bayou region of Louisiana,
then amid the vast pine forests that fringe the eastern edge of
the Lone Star State, past Houston, the great cotton mart, and
San Antonio, the beautiful city of the Alamo and the Missions.
At Spofford the Mexico sleej^er swings off from the main line
and in a little while one crosses the Rio Grande at Eagle Pass,
and finds one’s self upon the soil of the sister Republic. From
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THE JUNE NUMBER

will contain among other important articles

THE SEINE, THE MEUSE,

AND

THE MOSELLE,

By professor WILLIAM M. DAVIS,

Of Harvard University ;

AND

ACROSS THE GULF BY RAIL
TO KEY WEST,

By JEFFERSON B. BROWNE,

Collector of Customs of the Port of Key West;

ALSO A PORTRAIT OF

GENERAL A. W. GREELY, U. S. A.

JUDD & DETWEILER, PRINTERS, WASHINGTON, D. C.

VII

JUNE, 1896

The

No. 6

?73

Honorary Editor; JOHN BtYDE

' ! ■ ' j

Honorary Associate Editors /

J MoOEir-^ HliTzW-iWHAMf AH SCIDiMORE

A. W. GREEliY

CONTENTS

FRONTISPIECE: PORTRAIT OF OENERAl. A. W ^REBLY, S. A..

Chief ISl^aal Officer.

THE SEINE, THE MEUSE. AND THE MOSELLE. WILLIAM M. DAVIS., 189
With maps.

ACROSS THE GULF BY RAIL TO KEY WEST.-

JEFFERSON B. BROWNE. 203
A GEOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION OP THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 208

THE MEXICAN CENSUS 211

Geographic Literature, p. 212; Proceedings of The National Geographic Society,
p. 214; Geographic Notes, p. 217; MiscOUanea, p. 220.

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THE

National Geographic Magazine

VoL. VII JUNE, 1896 No. 6

THE SEINE, THE MEUSE, AND THE MOSELLE

B}’- MTlliam M. Davis
Professor of Physical Geography in Harvard University

The three rivers. — The narrow basin of the INIeuse lies between
the widespreading branches of the Seine on the west and of the
Moselle on the east. The slender trunk stream of the Meuse,
with hardly a
tributary on
either side, is
like one of
t Ii o s e tall,
close-trimmed
po})lars that
the traveler
often sees
along the na-
tional roads of
France, and
the compari-
son is not alto-
gether inapt,
for there is
good reason to

think that the Figuke r.— The. \ra1>iciimn1>er.s on this figure show the cUflerent
M e U S e h a S 'orations of the otlier figures used in this article. Tlie Roman
,, , numbers show the location of the page plates,

really been

trimmetl of certain branches which have been diverted to the
basins ot its larger neighbors. Its basin is, indeed, like the

1.3

190

THE SEINE, THE MEUSE, AND THE MOSELLE

dwindling territory of a petty prince between the encroaching
kingdoms of powerful rulers on either side. The evidence of this
will appear when we examine the characteristics of the three rivers.

TJie vigorov,s meanders of the Seine. — The Seine, after gathering
in its upper branches both above and below Paris, pursues a
strongly meandering course to the sea. Its lower valley is sunk
with rather steep sides in a comparatively even upland, which
itself is a surface of denudation. Although without complete
])roof on this point, I am led to suppose that this gently rolling
upland is an uplifted peneplain — that is, a denuded region that
was once reduced to a surface of moderate relief close to its con-
trolling Ijaselevel, and then raised Ijy some gentle process of
elevation to its present altitude. During the development of the
})eneplain the Seine, the master river of the region, must have
attained an extremely faint grade, and at the same time have
taken on tlie halnt of swinging from side to side in comparatively
regular curves or meanders such as are characteristic of rivers
with gentle sloi)e. With the uplift of the region the meandering
river would proceed to incise its channel beneath the uplifted
surface, and thus Ram.say accounted for its peculiar intrenched
meanders many years ago. They seem to be features of old age
retained in youth of the present cycle of denudation as an in-
heritance from an advanced stage of a preceding cycle.

In the second C3^cle of denudation, now in progress, the belt
of country inclosed by lines tangent to the outer meander curves
of the Seine seems to have broadened to greater Avidth than it
possessed before the uplift of the region occurred. The evidence
of this is seen in the long sloping descent of each tongue of land
which enters one of the river curves and from which the river
seems to have receded, while the outer side of the swinging cur-
rent undercuts a bluff of steep descent from the upland, as if
the river were pressing against it. If the meandering river had
cut down its channel vertically the slopes on the two sides of its
present course should be symmetrical.* The reason for the in-
creased breadth of the meander belt appears to be in the increased
velocity given to the river in consequence of the uplift of the
region. Many similar cases might be mentioned, but none show
more clearh’ than the Seine the special features of an invigorated
river. The great curves around which it savings fit in nearly all
cases close to the bluff on their outer side. It is an able-bodied
river, a river of a robust habit of life.

*See note Vjy A. Winslow in Science, 1893.

\M/iraiS\
I iirl^

leMesiifl.'

( 'onihoTct’^

'<1^ t Tftmi^e^

CauUidui^

tiuAf^ruI ''

.J- JKaiuiy^,

NAT. GEOG. MAG.

VOL. VII, 1896, PL. XXI

VALLEY OF THE SEINE, NEAR DUCLAIR
Sheet ;'/, Ma-p of France, / . So.ooo

THE SEINE, THE MEUSE, AND THE MOSELLE

191

The case of the Ste. Auslreberte. — Not far below the city of Rouen
and precisely at the small town of Duclair, on the north hank
of the Seine, there is an interesting little occurrence strongly
confirmatory of the invigorated habit of the swinging river.
Duclair is situated on the outer side of a large north-turninsr
meander. Into this north-turning meander descends a Ions:
sloping spur from the upland south of the river ; east and west
of Duclair similar long sloping spurs descend from the northern
upland into the adjacent south-turning meanders. On looking
closely at the map of the country or, still better, on looking over
the region itself from the top of the bluff at the back of the town,
it is seen that the western of the two northern spurs is obliquely
cut across b_y a narrow, diy, flat-hottomed valley, Avhich is just
in continuation of the course of a little stream known as the Ste.
Austreberte, coming from the northeast and mouthing in the
Seine at Duclair. The dry valley was evidentl}’ at one time fol-
lowed by the lower course of this stream, and it is still followed
by tbe highway and the railway, for which it serves for a “ short-
cut” on their way down the Seine. (See Plate XXI.)

The question then arises. Why has the stream deserted so well
])repared a path ? The answer is not far to seek. The change
evidently occurred because the Duclair meander of the Seine
pushed its inclosing bluff further and further north until the
river cut through the ridge that separated it from the Ste. Aus-
treberte and thus tempted that stream to desert its lower course.
This little fact, taken in connection with the sloj^es of the dove-
tailing spurs, fully justifies the opinion that the Seine is a most
vigorous river, not only competent to swing around the curves
of its former meanders, but demanding an increased radius for
every curve, and thus widening its meander belt. Here and
there, it is true, the swinging course of the river departs some-
what irregularly from the round curves of its valley, as if the
river had shrunk somewhat awa}’’ from the strong curves which
it once followed. This may ])erhaps l)e ex[)lained as the result
of the diminishing velocity of the river, now that it has cut its
new valley deep l^elow the adjacent upland and close to tbe con-
trolling baselevel, but the irregularities are exce[)tional and
they need not be further considered. As a whole, the river may
be regarded as an able-bodied stream turning vigorously from
curve to curve on its way to the sea.*

♦An iicoiclent of the Ste. Aiifitrel)erto tyjie is found in the valley of the Marne a short
distance helow .Meaux, where the Grand Morin now joins tlio Marne at Isles-les-Villo-
noy, ahandoniiif^a former lower course which I6d it to I’rccy.

192

THE SEINE, THE MEUSE, AND THE MOSELLE

The robust habit of the Moselle. — Let us next glance at the lower
course of the Moselle. Passing below its upper branching course
and following it below Treves through the highlands to the Rliine,
we find here again a most serpentine valley incised beneath the
general upland of the region. Ascending from the valley bot-
tom, which the traveler ordinarily follows, to the level of the
inclosing upland, it is even more manifest here than in north-
western France that we have to do with an uplifted and well-
dissected peneplain. The surrounding region is one in which
the rocks are greatly deformed, possessing all the characteristics
of mountain structure, but few of the characteristics of mountain
height. Indeed, the upland between Treves and the Rhine is
one of the best examples of an uplifted peneplain that I have
seen. The gently rolling surface shows little regard for the great
diversity in the attitude of its rocks. Here and there it is still
surmounted by low, linear eminences, such as the Idarwald and
the Soonwald, following the strike of resistant quartzites. These
I would call “ monadnocks,” taking the name from a t3q:>ical
residual mountain which surmounts the uplifted peneplain of
New England in southwestern New Hampshire.

But how has the Moselle come to follow a meandering valley
deejfiy incised in the ])eneplain? It is manifest, from what is
now known concerning the geological development of land sur-
faces, that during the later stages of the denudation of the middle
Rhine higlilands the streams of the region must have flowed
idl}'' along meandering courses with gentle sloi)e in channels
little below the surrounding surface ; hut at present the streams,
and especially the master rivers of the region, have deeply in-
cised courses inclosed by steep-sided valle3^s. Clearly, then, the
region has been uplifted since the denudation of the peneplain
and is now well entered in a second cycle of denudation. The
meanders developed in the later stages of the previous cycle of
denudation are inherited in the earl3^ stage of the present C3^1e.

It is worth noting, however, that there seems to have been a
pause during the general elevation of the region, for the valley
of the INIoselle ma3" be described as a narrow, meandering trench
cut in a wide-open, flat-bottomed trough, the trough being sunk
well beneath the general surface of the adjacent upland. The
same sequence of forms may be clearly recognized in the valle3''
of the Rhine, particularl3’^ in the neighborhood of Bacharach,
where the old river alluvium still lies on the floor of the uplifted
trough, although the existing river trench is sunk several him-

NAT. GEOG. MAG.

VOL. VII, 1896, PL. XXII

Gof5^7^

i\\r

HOH«ii petERs

VALLEY OF THE MOSELLE, NEAR BERNCASTEL
SlueC Map of the German Empire, i : foo.ooo

THE SEINE, THE MEUSE, AND THE MOSELLE

193

dred feet beneath it. It must therefore be concluded from the
relation of the upland, the trough, and the trench that the uplift
of the region to its present height was accomplished in two
movements, and that a longer interval of comparative rest fol-
lowed tlie first movement than has yet elapsed since the second ;
but it must also be understood that the time that has elapsed
from the first of these movements to the present day is very
short compared to the long cycle of denudation during which
the ancient mountains of the region were worn down to the gen-
eral surface of the peneplain.

The meanders which the Moselle now follows in its serpentine
trench are therefore to be regarded as the inheritance of a me-
andering habit that it acquired on the floor of the trough ; but
here, as in the case of the Seine, the present width of the meander
belt is somewhat greater than the width of the former belt, judg-
ing from the difference in the slopes of the interior spurs and
the steep bluffs opposite them on the outer side of the river
curves. The Moselle, like the Seine, swings around its curves
with a robust, full-bodied action, nowhere hesitating to make the
circuit with strong pressure on its outside bank.

The tivo cut-offs above Berncastel. — At several points the spurs
from the upland have very narrow necks through which the
valley railway passes in “ short-cut” tunnels. Although I have
not found any example of the diversion of a side stream by the
lateral growth of the river meanders, yet such a change is im-
minent just above Piinderich, where the ridge between the Moselle
and the Alfbach is reduced to a very narrow measure. But it
does appear that just above Berncastel the INIoselle has played
U[)on itself the same trick that the Seine has played upon the
Ste. Austreberte. The Moselle at this point has an excei>tion-
ally straight course, but to the right and left of it rise two isolated
hills, inclosed by troughs of horseshoe shape whose outer slopes
rise to the general uplands. From the study of the maps at
home I had come to the opinion that these troughs represented
former meanders of the river, now abandoned in favor of the
more direct intermediate course, and an insi>ection of the district
on the ground has confirmed this belief. 1 presume the fact is
well known to students of river habits abroad.* (See Plate
XXII.)

Nothing can be more satisfactory than the agreement shown
between the features of these abandoned meanders and of the

♦Soe, for e.xnmple, II. Orobo, Ueber 'rbiilbilduiiK mif der linken Klielnuolte, Jubrb.
k. itroiiHH. gool. LiindoHiitiKt., 188.'i, 187.

194

THE SEINE, THE MEUSE, AND THE MOSELLE

meanders still occupied Ijy the river farther down the trench.
The radius of curvature is essentially the same in the several
cases. The slopes on the outsides of the troughs have the char-
acteristic, hlufi-like descent from the upland. The isolated hills
are the ends of interlocking spurs, now dissevered from the up-
lands hy the cross-cut of the river ; the ends of these hills that
project into the horseshoe troughs have the comparative!}" gentle
descent of the spurs that are elsewhere found projecting into the
actual meanders. Not only so ; the eastern branch of the south-
ern horseshoe is just opposite and in line with the western branch
of the northern horseshoe. There can he no doubt that the vigor-
ous Moselle has here so earnestly swung against its outer bank
that it has actually shortened its own course by cutting through
the narrow necks of the intervening spurs. Perhaps I am giving
too much emphasis to this occurrence. It is not a great rarity,
for similarly abandoned river meanders are not infrequent in
other })lateaus. They are known in the plateau of Wiirtemberg,
where it is trenched by the Neckar at Lauffen and just above,
and in the plateau of western Pennsylvania, trenched by the Ohio
and its branches. It is not, however, the mere occurrence of
these cut-off meanders, but rather the lesson that they teach, that
deserves emphasis. They all indicate strong river action. The
Moselle must therefore be regarded as an able-bodied, vigorous
river, like the Seine.

Tlte staggering Mease. — Let us now look at the INIeuse. From
some distance above Commercy, down stream as far as Verdun
and beyond, this river, like the others, follows a well-defined
meandering valley, incised beneath uplands on either side. As
before, the slope of the bluffs on the outer side of the valley
curves is comparatively steep, while the slope of the spurs on the
inner side of the curves is relatively gentle. Just above Com-
mercy, near Sarcy-sur-Meuse, one of the spurs is almost cut
through and is now connected with its upland l>y a very narrow
and low neck, which alone separates the Hood-plain of the curv-
ing valley on either side. The railway and canal both save dis-
tance by cutting across the low neck. At Dun-sur-Meuse the
neck of a former spur is entirely cut through. It now stands as
an isolated hill surrounded on all sides hy the flat valley floor.*

*The Etat-major map, 1 : 80,000, suggests three other abandoned meanders : one east
of Lin3'-devant-Dun ; another northeast of Letanne; the third southwest of Mouzon.
The cutting of some of these meanders may have occurred early in the history of the
valley. At Koeur-la petite, below Commercy, the map shows the railway and canal run-
ning through a depression in the neck of a spur that extends toward Han-sur-Meuse,
and I suppose that the Ste. Austreberte case is here paralleled.

NAT GEOG. MAG

VOL. VII

1896

PL. XXIII

VALLEY OF THE MEUSE, NEAR ST. MIHIEL

Sheet «/ France, i

80,000

I-

LlOIl-<ipiPs iqj

ik^

<;V

!=6^S-

VALLE.Y OF THE MEUSE, NEAR DUN-SUR-MEUSE
Shet'l J5, .Vap of France, j : 80,000

NAT. GEOG. mag.

VOL. VII, 1896, PL. XXIV

Wk:''^^i£F

THE SEINE, THE MEUSE, AND THE MOSELLE

195

It is manifest, then, that this valley was excavated by a river
hardly less vigorous than those that cut the valleys of the Seine
and the Moselle, but the vigorous river that was once here is
now nowhere to be found. The floor of the valley is at present
occupied for the most part by broad, green meadows, instead
of by a free-swinging current of water, and the only stream to be
found is the little Meuse, wandering here and there on the broad
meadows and staggering with most uncertain step around the
valley curves. It wriggles from place to place, now touching
this side of the valley, now that, swinging indifferently against
the steep bluffs and gentle slopes of the spurs, sometimes even
running for a short distance up the valley in its irregular j)ath.
Is it not then clear that since the time when this winding valley
was made there has been a great diminution in the volume of
water that follows it ? No other conclusion seems admissible;
and hence a reason for the loss of volume must be sought. (See
Plates XXIII and XXIV.)

The loss of volume cannot be ascribed to any climatic change,
for that should have affected the Seine and Moselle as well.
May it then be ascribed to a change of the area drained, Avhereby
the Seine and the Moselle gained the drainage area which the
Meuse lost? If this were so, the Meuse would have become
smaller and smaller, while the Seine and Moselle grew larger
and larger. The dwindling Meuse would have lost the power of
swinging boldly around its valley curves ; it would have fallen
into the present timid habit of staggering, after the fashion of
other small streams, but at the same time the Seine and the
Moselle would have been confirmed in their vigorous habit of
swinging freely around the curves of their valle}^s. Is it pos-
sible, then, that the side branches of the Meuse have really been
trimmed from the trunk river, and that the trimmed l)ranches
have been engrafted into the s}^stems of the Seine and the Moselle ?

The migration of river divides. — The question thus raised leads
to a consideration of the general problem of the shifting or migra-
tion of river divides, a subject that is of particular interest to the
student of ])li3^sical geogra[)hy. At first sight one would be in-
clined to think that the crest-line of a divide l)etween adjacent
river basins would merely waste lower and lower as it weathered
away, without shifting laterally, and therefore without causing
any change in the area of the adjacent drainage basins. It is
probable, however, that this sini[)le process is of very rare occur-
rence in nature. It is much more likely that the line of the

196

THE SEINE, THE MEUSE, AND THE MOSELLE

divide will move more or less to one side or the other as it
weathers away, on account of the unequal rate of wasting of its
two slopes. The possible causes of unequal wasting are various-
The declivity of the two slopes may differ, .in which case the
steep slope wastes faster than the other and the divide is veiy
slowly pushed toward the flatter slope. The rocks underlying
the two slo]3es ma}^ be of different resistance ; then the weaker
one will, as a rule, waste away the faster, and the divide will
gradually migrate toward the more resistant rocks. Again, the
agencies of erosion may be of different activities on the two
slopes; one slope may have a greater rainfall than the other, or
may suffer a greater number of alterations from freezing to melt-
ing. Although the last is generall}’’ a subordinate cause, it prob-
ably contributes in a small way to the solution of the problem
as a whole.

The shifting of the divide as thus explained is generally accom-
] dished by a slow migration. In some cases, however, when the
divide is pushed to the very side of a stream whose basin it
inclosed, then a little further change diverts all the upper drain-
age of this stream into the encroaching basin, and with this
change the divide makes a sudden leap around the upi)er waters
of the diverted river, after which the slow migration may be
resumed. The movement of a divide may therefore be described
as alternately creeping and leaping.

Whether this process is of very general importance or not can
hardly be decided at the present time; but there are certain
regions in which its application is most illuminating to the
studies of the physical geographer. Philippson has brought the
subject to general attention in his Studien ilber Wasserscheiden,
where a full account of what others have done up to 1<S85 may
be found. Oldham has told how certain headwaters of the In-
dian rivers are pushing their divides through the innermost of
the Himalayan ranges, and thus acquiring drainage area that
formerly Ijelonged to the interior streams of the elevated Thi-
betan plateau. This example is one of the best in which the
process depends chiefly on the unequal declivity of the slopes
on the two sides of the divide. Heim has described the depre-
dations of the Maira in beheading the upper course of the Inn,
thus accounting in a most beautiful manner for the little lakes
at the head of the Engadine valley, wdiere this contest is going
on. The special map of the Ober-Engadine, published in 1889,
on a scale of 1 : 50,000, by the Swiss topographical bureau, gives

THE SEINE, THE MEUSE, AND THE MOSELLE

197

fine illustration of the significant features of river interaction in
this region.

A remarkable case of river diversion occurs in the shift of the
course of the Vistula from its former path down the valle}" now
occupied by the Netze to a more northward course, by which it
flows directly to the Baltic sea, the point of change being at the
town of Bromberg. This is well illustrated on the Prussian topo-
graphical maps, and has been described in a general way by
various writers on the geograph}^ of North Germany. Whether
it was caused by the spontaneous interaction of streams com-
peting for drainage area or not, I shall not at this distance ven-
ture to say, but shall hope to find a full explanation of the
change in a forthcoming essay by Berendt. Jukes-Brown has
described an interesting case in England, where the Trent cap-
tured the headwaters of the Wytham, and in a recent volume
of the Geographical Journal of London I have attempted a more
general treatment of the same region. Readers who wish to fol-
low the subject into examples of greater intricacy may find some
problematic examples in the rivers of Penns^dvania and northern
New Jersey. *

In the general discussion of this problem we should recognize
two divisions. First, the processes by Avhich it is accounted for,
these having just been summarily described. Second, the topo-
graphical forms by which its occurrence may be recognized, dis-
tinction being made between examples occurring in the remote
or the recent past and others likely to occur in the near or dis-
tant future. Illustration of the second division of the subject
can best be given by describing the concrete case of the river
^larne near Chalons, than whicli no better example lias come to
my notice an3'where in the world.

The case of the Marne below Chalons. — In the province of Cliam-
jiagne the Marne drains an extended interior lowland inclosed
liy a forested upland on the west. The lowland is the ]>roduct
of comparatively rapid erosion during late Tertiary time on weak
upper Cretaceous strata. It is for the most jiart covered b}^ ex-
tensive farms. The uiiland stands where the lower Tertiarv
strata have, during the same period of time, more successfully
resisted erosion. As the dip of the strata is gentl}' westward, the
eastern margin of the upland is marked by a steep escarpment.
The .Marne gathers man,y branches from the lowland, and escapes
on its way to the sea li}' a deep vallc}' cut through the upland.

♦Tkk Natio.val Gkoohaphic Maoa/.ink, Wiisliingtoii, i, 188f); ii, 1800.

198 THE SEINE, THE MEUSE, AND THE MOSELLE

In this valley it receives two branches on the southern side, to
which special attention should be given. The first is the Sur-
melin, whose head is found in the upland near its eastern pre-
cipitous margin ; but, curiously enough, although this stream of
course diminishes toward its source near Montmort, the valley
that it occupies maintains an almost constant width some six
miles farther, nearly to the escarpment of the upland. The
second branch is the Petit Morin. This, like the Marne, heads in
the lowland east of the upland, and also, like the Marne, escapes
by a deep and narrow valley through the upland. The lowland
area that it drains is, however, very small, and for about ten
miles from its head there is an extended marsh, known as the
Marais de St. Gond, lying partly on the lowlands and partly in
the entrance to the narrow valley in the U})land.

In searching for a reason for this arrangement of the Marne
and its two branches, it is important to notice that if the branches
were prolonged eastward the}^ would both lead to streams, the
Soude and the Somme,* flowing for some distance on the low-
land toward the heads of the branches, but then turning north-
ward and entering the Marne directl3^

The beheading of the Surmelin and the Petit — In explana-

tion of all these facts let it be supposed that the two pairs, Soude-
Surmelin and Somme-Morin, were once actuall}" continuous
streams at a time before the lowland was eroded on the weak
rocks east of the upland, and let the verity of the supposition be
tested by the likelihood of a natural, spontaneous change from
that condition to the present.

When the paired streams flowed westward, they, like the Marne,
must have run in the direction of the dip of the strata; hence
they mav all be called consequent streams. They must all have
passed from the weak Cretaceous strata to the resistant Tertiary
strata. The INIarne is much the largest of these three streams,
and its valley must have-been deepened rapidly, while the other
valleys must have been deepened slowly. As the valleys were
deepened they progressively widened, but the widening must
have been much more rapid on the weak than on the resistant
strata ; and the deep valle}'’ of the Marne must have widened in
the weaker strata much more rapidl}" than the neighboring
shallow valleys of the Soude-Surmelin and the Somme-Morin.
Now the question arises, will the divides between these three
valleys shift in such a manner as to alter the assumed original

* Not to be confused with the river Somme in northwestern France.

THE SEINE, THE MEUSE, AND THE MOSELLE

199

arrangement to the actual arrangement? Undoubtedl}^ they
would, and for the following reasons.

The valley of the Marne being deeper than that of the Soude-
Surmelin, the divide between the two would be pushed away
from the larger and toward the smaller streams, and eventually
the upper course of the Soude-Surmelin would be diverted by a
growing side branch of the Marne (the lower part of the Sonde),
and thus led to join that vigorous river, while the lower course
of the Soude-Surmelin (the Surmelin) would remain as a dimin-

ished, beheaded river. The side branch of the Marne, wliich
causes the div'crsion, ]>elongs to the class of streams called sulm-
qaent. Let us next look at the divide between the Soude-Surmelin
and the Somme-Morin. At first, as these streams are of about
equal volume, the divide between them would not be pushed
significantly to one side or the other, but after the ca))ture of the
Sonde by a branch of the Marne, the Soude would rapid I deepen
its valley on the weak strata, and from that time forward the
di videbetween the Soiideand theSomme-Morin would be system-
atically pushed toward the latter. Eventually the upper waters
of this stream would also be diverted to the Marne by the way

200

THE SEINE, THE MEUSE, AND THE MOSELLE

of the lower Soucle, leaving the lower waters (the Petit Morin)
as another diminished, beheaded stream ; hut inasmuch as this
second capture must occur at a much later date than the first, it
is natural to expect that the beheaded Petit Morin will, at the
time of capture, have cut a much deeper valley through the up-
land than was cut by the earlier beheaded stream, the Surmelin.

The elbow of capture. — Let us call the sharp turn that the di-
verted headwaters make where they join the diverting stream
*■ the elbow of capture.” After the capture the rearranged water-
course will cut a sharply intrenched valley above and below this
elbow, for the diverted stream, of considerable volume, being
turned into the head of the diverting stream, where the volume
is zero, must immediately deepen its channel. As time passes
the trench will disappear by widening, and hence the occurrence
of such a trench may be taken as indication of recent rearrange-
ment. Similarly the diminished, beheaded stream may be more
or less obstructed by the detritus that is washed into its valle}’’
by small lateral branches; thus its flow may be delayed by
swani])s or it ma}" be even held back in shallow lakes, as the
Inn is held back in the lakes of Engadine, as described by Heim ;
but this is also a relatively short-lived condition, for as time
passes the beheaded stream will adjust its grade to the work
that its diminished volume has to do and its lakes and swamps
will disappear.

In nearly all cases further shortening is enforced upon the
beheaded stream below the elbow of capture. It deepens its
valley slowly, while the reinforced subsequent diverter deepens
its valley with relative rapidity ; hence the divide will be pushed
away from the elbow of capture and the beheaded stream will
be progressively diminished. The distance of the source of the
beheaded stream from the elbow of capture may therefore be
generally taken as a measure of the remoteness of the time when
the capture took place. It not infrequently happens that a small
stream is developed, flowing into the elbow of capture from the
neighborhood of the source of the beheaded stream, and pro-
gressivel}" lengthening as the divide is })ushed away and the be-
headed stream is shortened. Let us call streams of this class,
flowing against the dip of the strata, obsequent. They will mani-
festly ])e wanting at elbows of recent capture, but they may attain
a length of several miles if the capture occurred long enough ago.

Now, look at the actual arrangement of the streams on the low-
land west of Chidons and on the upland be}’ond the escarpment.

THE SEINE, THE MEUSE, AND THE MOSELLE

201

while bearing these deductive criteria in mind. The Somme has
latel}’’ been captured i)y the growth of a subsequent branch from
near the elbow of the Soude; for, behold, at the little village of
Ecury-le-Repos a sharp elbow in the course of this stream and
a narrow trench for a moderate distance above and below the
elbow. The Petit Morin is evidently the lower course of the
Somme. On account of its diminished volume it is for the
present unable to keep its valley clear of the detritus that is
washed down from the steep valley sides in the upland, proba-
bly near Boissy and Le Thoult; hence the great marsh of St.

Gond and its extensive deposits of ]ieat about the head of the
stream. The marshy head of the Petit Morin is still close to the
elbow of ca})ture at Ecury-le-Uepos, and no obscquent stream is
yet developed in this case. The change is clearly of recent date,

• Look next at the Soude-Surmelin system. 1 fere the capture
occurred long ago; there is no sign of a gorge at the elbow of
capture. An obsequcnt stream, the Berle, about four miles in
length, has grown toward the retreating escarpment of the u[)-
land, and the head of the beheaded stream is now ten miles
away from where it stood at the time when the(!aj)ture bad just
taken j>lacc. Having lost its bead rather early in the history of

202

THE SEINE, THE MEUSE, AND THE MOSELLE

the region, its valley through the upland is not cut to a great
depth ; it is much shallower than the valley of the Petit Morin,
which was beheaded at a much later period, when it had become
nearly as deep as that of the Marne itself.

It was while studying the French maps at home that I first
came on this almost ideal example of migrating divides and
adjustment of streams to structures, but it was not until an ex-
cursion abroad in 1894 that I Avas able to study it on the ground.
I then had the gratification of confirming by direct observation,
as far as the brief time at my disposal would allow, the expecta-
tions formed from study at a distance. The example of the
Marne and its side branches therefore still serves me as atypical
case of adjustments of this kind.

It is curious to note that another small stream, the upper
Vaure, fiows toward the marsh of St. Gond, but instead of being
diverted northward by the Soude to the INIarne, it is diverted
southward l)y the Superbe, a su])seciuent branch of the Aulje.
It seems also i)rol)able that this subsequent branch has diverted
the Maurienne at Pleurs, and thus cut it off from the Grand
iNIorin, whose head is, like that of the Surmelin, on the upland
Avest of the escarinnent.

It is manifest that the terminology here employed Avill he of
service in simplifying the description of other examples of shift-
ing divides and river adjustment if they ])Ossess the same sys-
tematic features as are here so Avell exhibited. That such is the
case I can confirm from the study of several examples near the
escarpment of the SAvabian Alp in Wiirtemberg, Avhere the head-
Avaters of the Xeckar are actively pushing aAvay the divide that
separates them from the northern tributaries of the upper Dan-
ube. Although the arrangement of i)arts is not the same as in
the examjde near Chalons, yet the homologies of the'tAVO regions
can l>e clearly made out. The same may be said of the rivers of
central England, Avhich are as a rule Avell adjusted to the val-
leys betAveen the uplands of the oolite and the chalk.

(7b be continued.)

ACROSS THE GULF BY RAIL TO KEY WEST

By Jefferson B. Browne,

Collector of Customs of the Port of Key Tlesi

The traveler aiDproacliing Key West from the gulf of Mexico
cannot but wonder that upward of twenty thousand jDeople
should have congregated on a spot so manifestly and completely
isolated from the rest of the world. After landing and seeing
how little man has done for the improvement of the island, or
rather how nature has been marred by man’s mistakes, the vis-
itor’s wonder changes to absolute amazement that so large a city
could have grown up Avithout railroad or even wagon-road con-
nection with the state and country of Avhich it jDolitically forms
a part. Unless, however, our visitor is an exceedingly superfi-
cial observer, he will soon begin to realize that it is not so much
a matter of surprise that the city has attained its present groAvth
as that, with the natural advantages it possesses, its development
has not been still greater. He Avill learn that for fifty years Key
West has held its supremacy as the most poinilous city of the
state, and that it OAves its prosperity not to any single industry,
but to the diversity of its sources of revenue, the outgroAvth
mainly of its geographical location. Its fisheries, its siionge in-
du.stry, its cigar manufactories, its importance as a coaling station
and port of call for the commerce of the gulf, its superior advan-
tages as a naval rendezvous and military station, all have con-
tributed to the upbuilding of Key Weston thatl)road foundation
Avhich is the secret of its continued prosperity. The shipl)uilder,
the sailor, and the sponger, the fisherman, the Avrecker, and the
stevedore, the cigarmaker and the machinist, the truck farmer
and the fruit groAver, all find em])loyment in Key \>’est and the
adjacent islands, and no man Avith a technical knoAvlodge of any
branch of industr}’, Avith the single important exception of rail-
roading, ever has to abandon his trade and seek a livelihood in
another.

It is not too much to say that upon the comi)letion of the
Nicaragua canal. Key West Avill become the most imj)ortant city
in the South. Its harbor, land-locked by reefs and keys, in

20.1

204.

ACROSS THE GULF BY RAIL TO KEY WEST

which can float the largest ships of the United States Navy, has
four entrances. The southwest passage has 33 feet of water on
the bar, the main ship channel 30 feet, the southeast 22 feet,
and the northwest 14 feet. A vessel leaving the harbor of Key
West by the southwest passage would have to sail but 10 miles
before she could shape her course for her port of destination,
and through the main ship channel she would have only five
miles to run l)efore she was at sea. Ships putting into Key West
for stores or rei)airs neetl go out of their course but 10 miles,
an advantage possessed by no other port in the United States.
4'he Government is now engaged in deepening the northwest
]>assage to 21 feet, and when this is completed ships trading in ,
the gulf will ])ass through the harbor of Key West, coming in at
one of the main channels and pa.ssing out over the northwest
l>ar, thus saving 70 miles and avoiding the dangerous reefs around
the Tortugas islands.

That Key West will within a short time be connected with the
mainland by a* railroad, no one who has noted the trend of rail-
road l)uilding in Florida can doubt. The ultimate object of all
railroad construction in this state is obviousl}' to reach deep water
at an extreme southern point, and Ke}'’ West meets the.se re-
(juirements to the fullest degree.

The first survey of a railroad route to Key West was made by
Civil Engineer J. C. Uailey for the International Ocean Tele-
graph Company as long ago as I860. General W. F. Smith,
better known as “ Baldy ” Smith, at that time president of the
company, obtained from the Spanish Government an exclusive
landing for a calfie on the coast of Cuba for forty years. The
company had under consideration two plans for reaching Key
West with its telegraph system. One contemplated a land line
to Punta Rassa, Florida, and thence b}' cable to Key West; the
other a continuous land line along the keys. It was proposed
to drive iron piles into the coral rock in the waters separating
the keys, and to socket them about 10 feet above high-water
mark with wooden poles, and iMr Bailey was employed to make
the surve3^ While engaged in this work he surveyed the route for
a railroad to Ke}" West, and embodied in his report to the com-
pany his opinion of its feasibility and cheapness as compared
with the popular idea of what such a road would cost, ^\'hen
the Western Union Telegraph Company obtained control of the
International Ocean Telegraph Company this report came into
its possession, and it is still on file in its offices in New York.

ACROSS THE GULF BY RAIL TO KEY WEST

205

The distance from Ke}”^ West to the point where a railroad
would connect with the mainland is about T20 miles, 100 miles
of which would be on the keys. The construction of a railroad
from Key West to Bahia Honda, an island 30 miles from the
former point, presents no difficult problems of engineering and
would be comparatively inexpensive. When cleared of a few
inches of vegetable mold and loose stones, the surface of the
islands is as level and smooth as a ballroom floor. From Key
West to Bahia Honda the railroad wmuld traverse Boca Chica,
Saddle Bunch, Sugar Loaf, Cudjoe, Summerland, Torch, and Big
Pine Key. Between these islands short trestles, ranging from
one hundred yards to half a mile in length, would be necessary ;
but some of the passages could be filled with the loose rock which
is found in immense quantities on all the keys, thus obviating
the necessity of trestling and making a solid roadbed. Not
more than seven feet of water has to be crossed until Bahia
Honda channel is reached. This channel lies between West
Summerland Key and Bahia Honda, and has an average depth of
about 20 feet, the distance across it being a little over a quarter
of a mile. Here it would be necessary to have a drawbridge, as
the channel is used by the small vessels cruising along the coast.

The most difficult and expensive i^ortion of the road would be
from Bahia Honda to Knights Key. Between these two islands
the distance is about eight miles, but dotted along the route are
several small keys, surrounded by shallow bars, which extend
a half-mile or more on all sides. INIolasses Key lies directly on
the route from Bahia Honda to Knights Key. Between Molasses
Key and Knights Key the water is deep and bold, and if the
road was carried in a straight line throughout it would cross
about half a mile of water varying from 20 feet to 25 feet in
depth ; but by making a slight detour to the northward and
tre.stling from Molasses Key to Pigeon Key, and from Pigeon
Key to Knights Key, deep water would l)e avoided. Between
the former islands lies the Moser cliannel, named after Lieut.
Comdr. .Jeff. F. Moser, U. S. N., wlio located it during his Coast
Survey work in this vicinity several years ago, and four miles
distant and to the westward of Knights Key is the channel which
bears its name; over one or both of the.se channels there would
be another drawbridge.

After reaching Knights Key there would be very little trestling
for a distance of 30 miles, until the small keys to the eastward of

206

ACROSS THE GULF BY RAIL TO KEY WEST

Grassy Key were reached. Thence there would be two and one-
half miles of trestling to Conch Key and the same extent to Long
Key. After traversing Long Key for four miles the train would
run over a trestle three and one-half miles long— the water vaiw-
ing from 10 to 12 feet deep — to Lower Matecumhe, a fertile island
four miles in length. The next island is Upper Matecumhe, to
reach which would require a trestle two miles long and a draw-
bridge over one of the three channels separating these two keys.
The water between Lower and Upi>er Matecumhe, except in these
channels, is ver}-^ shallow, the banks at low tide being above the
surface of the water. The channels are exceedingly narrow, but
the depth of water in them ranges from 12 feet to 15 feet. Upper
Matecumhe, Umbrella Key, Plantation Key, and Key Largo are
sei>arated by very narrow channels, not over 100 yards in width.
The last named island, the largest and most fertile of the entire
chain, is 30 miles long, and connected on the north side with the
mainland.

By a fortunate provision of nature there is situated about 30
miles from Key West a large island known as Big Pine Key,
which is covered with a fine growth of pine suitable for railroad
ties. All the islands over which the road would run are of coral
formation. The piles used in the trestling and bridging would
be of iron, which is easily driven into the soft coral rock. The
lighthouses along the Florida reef are so constructed, and, stand-
ing on the edge of the gulf, exposed to the wind and sea, they
have withstood the storms and cyclones of forty years. Over
this road there would be no settling or washing of ties nor any
sinking of tre.stles. Outside of the line of road and running
parallel with it lies the Florida reef, forming a continuous break-
water from Fowey Rocks to Key W'est, and protecting the road
from high seas even in the severest hurricanes. The channels
between the reef and the keys are not over 12 feet deep, and the
water in which the trestling would be built would be no rougher
than that of any of our large rivers.

The keys are all below the frost line. The mo.st delicate fruits
and vegetables that were luxuriantly growing upon them during
the two freezes of last winter were not affected in the slightest
degree, and tomatoes, pineap{)les, eggplant, and tropical fruits
were supplied from these islands after the fruit and vegetables in
all other sections of the state had been destroyed. Owing to lack
of transportation facilities, however, onl}’ a few of the keys are
under cultivation ; so the growth of the more delicate vegetables,

ACROSS THE GULF. BY RAIL TO KEY WEST

207

which must find a daily market, is limited to the local demand.
"With rapid transportation the Florida keys would supply the
country with fresh vegetables all winter.

Key West is destined to become the Newport of the South.
Not since the exceptional year 1886 has the temperature risen
above 92° F. or fallen below 44° ; in fact, the mean annual maxi-
mum of the last nine years has been only 90.4°, while the mean
annual minimum has been 50.5°. In 1891 the minimum was
53°, in 1892 53°, and in 1893 52°. Soft breezes from the ocean
blow continuously over the island. The sun shines for 365 da}"s
in the year and is never obscured for more than a few hours at
a time, except occasionally in the months of September and
October, when a West India cyclone is passing up the gulf. There
are no malaria-breeding pools or streams, and sooner or later the
thousands of tourists who are restlessly seeking a milder and
more equable winter climate than the mainland affords will find
in Key ^^"est their ideal health resort.

The products of the West Indies and Caribbean sea will be
ferried across from Cuba in five hours and taken b}^!^ railroad
for distribution to all parts of the United States. Capital seek-
ing investment will reap no handsomer return than from a dry
dock at Key West, into which would come for repairs the trad-
ing-vessels of the gulf which now have to go hundreds of miles
out of their way to Newport News, and with the completion of
the Nicaragua canal Key West would be a port of call for sup-
plies and repairs for no small part of the shipjnng of the Avorld.

A railroad to Key West will assuredl}'- be built, ^\’hile the
fact that it has no exact counterpart among the great achieve-
ments of modern engineering may make it, like all other great
enterprises, a subject for a time of incredulity and distrust, it
presents, as has been shown, no difficulties that are insurmount-
able. It is, however, a magnificent enterprise and one the exe-
cution of which will call for the exercise of qualities of the very
highest order. ^^'llO will be its Cyrus W. Field? The hopes of
the i)Cople of Key West are centered in Henry INI. Flagler, whose
financial genius and jmblic spirit have opened up to the tourist
and health-seeker 300 miles of the beautiful east coast of the
state. Tlie building of a railroad to Key West would be a fitting
consummation of Mr. Flagler’s remarkable career, and his name
would be handed down to jtosterity linked to one of the grandest
achievements of modern times.

A GEOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE BRITISH

ISLANDS

The April number of the London Geographical Journal con-
tains an important account by Dr H. R. Mill of his plan for a
comprehensive Geographical Description of the British Islands.
He proposes that a memoir shall be prepared for each sheet of
the Ordnance one-inch maps, giving an index of places; the mean
elevation of the sheet and of the areas included between suc-
cessive contour lines ; a hypsographical description ; a physio-
graphical explanation ; the areas of woodlands, moorlands, and
cultivated lands ; a description of local iJolitical boundaries and
of historical events ; and, finally and chiefly, a geographical
chapter, “showing the relation of the human inhabitants to all
the foregoing conditions, especially with regard to the sites of
towns and villages, the distribution of population, the utiliza-
tion of natural resources, and historical development of indus-
tries.” A few carefully selected photographs of typical scenery
should accompany each memoir. Some sketch maps and dia-
grams may also be included. A bibliography would give the
titles of all pertinent publications.

This plan was favorably received at a meeting devoted to its
]>resentation, and it is to be hoped that the Royal Geographical
Society will vigorously promote so admirable an undertaking.
Hitherto concerned chiefly with the exploration of foreign lands,
a share of its attention 7nay well be turned towards its home
islands ; for, as was truly remarked at the opening of a recent
Italian Geographical Congress, however great the glory of dis-
tant exploration may be, the study of the home country is a
geographical duty.

It may, however, be questioned whether the method of issuing
a memoir for each survey sheet is on the whole advisable for a
work in which the physiographical and geographical chapters,
the most important parts of all, ought to be limited by natural
and not by arbitrary geometrical boundaries. Unity of treat-
ment would be gained and much repetition would be avoided by
considering each physiographical area as a whole and not in acci-
dental fragments as it happens to be divided by the edges of the

208

GEOGRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF THE BRITISH ISLANDS 209

map sheets. The usefulness of the empirical measurement of
altitudes on so detailed a scale as here proposed may also be
questioned. Not contour-line areas, but ph5’’siographical areas,
should be computed, for it is of little geographical value to in-
clude under a single arithmetical heading two surfaces of equal
limiting altitudes, one a steep slope, the other a broad flat.
Again, the seriousness of the undertaking is hardly recognized
in the statement that “the physiographical explanation would,
so far as the geology is concerned, be simply a restatement of the
‘ physical geography ’ section of the [local] geological survey
memoir, with such modifications as the modern views of the
cycle of development of a land surface suggest.” This is as if
one should say that a petrographical chapter in a new geological
report should be merel}’’ a modification of a chapter on rocks
that was written before the methods of modern petrography
were invented.

It is stated that the geographical description “ must be the
work of a trained geographer, who, after studying the maps in
the light of all the information referred to above, shall have
made himself familiar with the ground.” There are in Great
Britain man}^ travelers and explorers, but not many “ trained
geographers ” in the sense contemplated by Dr Mill, and here
seems to be a prime difficulty besetting this grand undertaking
at its outset. But the difficulty may be in great part solved if
to this crowning chapter we apply what Dr Mill says of a certain
subordinate section ; “ It would be very suitable as an exercise
and training for students if any institution existed in this coun-
try where students could he induced to study geography seri-
ousl}\” A work of this sort must necessarily be uneven in
quality. It should exhibit a marked improvement from a fair
beginning to a much better ending, and when the end comes a
revision of the earlier parts may he fairly demanded. It is,
therefore, to be hoi)ed that Dr Mill will not adhere too closely
to the philosophy that prohihits going into the water until after
learning how to swim. Let a beginning of the work at least he
made as a means of training up new geographers, and not merely
as an occupation fijr geographers already trained. Let the Royal
Geographical Society announce that it will ])uhlish in hrochurcs
chapters written according to an approved )»lan and reaching a
standard satisfactor}' to a committee of editors. An actual be-
ginning thus made, in the best form at present attainable, will
give the strongest possible ini[)ulse to the serious study of geog-

210 GEOGRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF THE BRITISH ISLANDS

raphy in the colleges and universities of a country where its
neglect is now so much deplored.

To all parts of the work might be applied the remark intro-
duced by Dr Mill under “ historical information.” It should be
“ very stringently edited, so as to confine it strictly to those
features and events of direct geographical importance.” The
varied standards of articles in the current geographical journals
indicate so vague an idea of tlie essential quality of geographical
discipline that this stringent editing will surely be needed in
every chapter of the proposed memoirs. Care must be taken
that the volumes do not become so many encyclopedias of sub-
jects that have not a “ direct geographical importance.” Local
floras and faunas, for example, which stand in the list of sug-
gested topics, might easily depart entirely from geography and
become pure biology. ISIere lists of species have practically no
geographical bearing. If treated with relation to distribution
they gain a touch of geographical quality ; but if their distri-
bution is used to reinforce the appreciation of conditions of
form, altitude, soil, and climate they become as fully geograph-
ical as any other means of enlightened description. So with
the study of population. Numerical tables extracted from
census reports omit the essential quality of relationship that
characterizes geogra}>hy proper. True geographical study is
needed to bring out the meaning of numbers and their depend-
ence on physiographical conditions. \Te believe that Dr Mill
appreciates these principles very fully, but there is a possibilit}’-
that others who will probably cooperate with him are not so
fully impressed by them, and that a committee of editors as a
whole might not see the importance of excluding mere tabula-
tions of species, of population, and similar unrelated records from
the memoirs, unless the principle of relationship is insisted on
from the beginning.

There is no place in the world that is today so favorably situated
for the undertaking of a work of this kind as are the British Isl-
ands. Well defined b}'^ insular position, a compact embodiment
of greatly varied forms, a seat of vast power and wealth, the rest
of the world may hope to have the model of geographical mono-
graphs there established. There is, on the whole, no society in
the world better fitted to encourage and support such an under-
taking than the Royal Geographical Society of London — estab-
lished in the world’s center of commerce, the resort of great
numbers of explorers, travelers, and others of geographic sym-

THE MEXICAN CENSUS

211

pathies, possessing vast resources in its library and its funds.
Dr Mill, as a secretary of this society, is to be congratulated on
the surroundings amid which his project takes form, and we
wish him the greatest success in its execution.

W. M. Davis.

THE MEXICAN CENSUS

The population of Mexico, as ascertained by the census of October 20,
1895, is officially announced as 12,570,195. The population of the differ-
ent states, with their respective capitals, is as follows :

ST.-VTES

Aguascalientes 103,645

Campeche 90,458

Coahuila 235,638

Colima 55,677

Chiapas 313,678

Chihuahua 266,831

Durangro 294,366

Guanajuato 1,047,238

Guerrero 417,621

Hidalgo 548,0.39

Jalisco 1,107,863

Mexico 838,737

Michoacan 889,795

Morelos • 1.59,800

Nuevo Leon 309,607

Oaxaca 882, .529

Puebla 979,723

Queretaro 227,233

San Lnis Potosi 570,814

Sinaloa 256,414

Sonora 191,281

Tabasco 1.34,794

Tamanlipas 204,206

Tlaxcala 166,803

Veracruz 855,975

Yucatan 297, .507

Zacatecas 4.52,720

Federal District 484,608

Territory of Tepic 144, .308

N. Itist. I.ower Calif 7,4.52

S. Dist. Lower Calif. 34,.S35

C.4PITAL CITIES

A guascalientes . ’. 31,619

Campeche 16,631

Saltillo 19,654

Colima 19,305

Tuxtla Gutierrez 7,882

Chihuahua 18,521

Durango 42,165

Guanajuato 39,3.37

Chilpancingo 6,204

Pachuca 52,189

Guadalajara 83,870

Toluca 23,648

Morelia 32,287

Cuernavaca 8,. 554

Monterey 56,8.55

Oaxaca 32,641

Puebla 91,917

Queretaro 32,790

San Lnis Potosi 69,676

Culiacan 14,205

Hermosillo 8,376

San .Tuan Bautista 27,0.36

Ciudad Victoria 14,575

Tlaxcala 2,874

.Talapa 18,173

IMerida .36,720

Zacatecas 40,026

^Mexico .339,935

Tepic 16,226

Ensenada <le Todo.s Santos. 1 ,2.59
La Paz 4,737

GEOGRAPHIC LITERATURE

Hanrlhook of Arctic Discoveries. Columl>ian Knowledge Series. ByA-W.

Greely, ]jri<radier-General, United States Army ; Chief Signal Otficer.

Pp. XI -I- 257, with 11 maps. Boston: Roberts Bros. 1890. $1.00.

Tliis work is a perfect storehouse of arctic facts and figures, from the
time of brave old Barents and 'Willoughby down to the present. As the
title indicates, it is a “ handbook ” and not a narrative of arctic discov-
ery ; but the little volume “ represents more than 50,000 pages of original
narrative, from which the author has faithfully endeavored to comi^ile
such data of accomplished results as may subserve the inquiries of a busy
man who often wishes to know what, when, and where, rather than
how.” Beginning with a chajder on the scope and value of arctic ex-
ploration, fifteen succinct chaptei's are devoted to a description of the
north polar regions and of the successive explorations by which they
have been made known ; each of these chapters is followed by a special
bibliography, while a general bibliography forms a final chapter, and the
volume ends with an excellent index. The little book is a model of con-
densation and logical arrangement ; it cannot be other than a godsend
to the student of arctic literature; it shows immense reading and study*
with jiatience and perseverance beyond the average man ; and its vivid
and forceful style carries the writer back over years of arctic research
and hundreds of volumes of arctic literature to his own voyages on icy
seas. O. W. Melviu.e.

Crater Ixikc Special Map. Klamath County, Oregon. United States Geo-
logical Survey. 'Washington, 189fi.

Rami, McXalhj ib Co.'s Indexed County and Railroad Pocket Map and Ship-
pers’ Guide. INIa.ssachusetts, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Washington,
and other states: Quebec. British Columbia, and other provinces of
Canada. New edition. Chicago: Rand, McNally & Co. 1890. 25 cents.

Occupations of the Negroes. By Henry Gannett, of the United States Geo-
logical Survey. Pp. 10, with 12 diagrams. Baltimore: The Trustees
of the John F. Slater Fund. Occasional Papers. No. 0. 1895. 25 cents.

The Foreign Commerce and Navigatiem of the United States for the Year endinn
June 30, 1895. Prepared by the Chief of the Bureau of Statistics,
Treasury Department. Washington, 1890. Pp. xcix -f .110b -r 83,
with diagrams.

S'atistical Abstract of the United States. 1895. Eighteenth number. Pre-
pared by the Bureau of Statistics, under the direction of the Secretary
of the Treasury. Pp. xii + 412. Washington, 1896.

A commendable departure recently made by the Geological Survey is
well exemplified in the case of the topographic sheet devoted to Crater
lake, Oregon, which contains three very instructive as well as attractive
illustrations, together with an interesting description of the lake and its

212

GEOGRAPHIC LITERATURE

213

vicinity from the pen of Mr J. S. Diller, the accomplished geologist to
whom the country is in no small measure indebted for its scientific
knowledge of this great natural wonder.

The new edition of the Kand-McNally state pocket maps cannot fail to
add to the well-deserved popularity they have so long enjoyed. The
maps are clearer and handsomer than ever, and the geographical index by
which they are accompanied is brought down to the date of publication,
the population according to tlie state census of 1895 being substituted for
that at the federal census of 1890 in all states in which an interdecennial
census has been taken.

Nothing could be more admirable in its way than is Mr Gannett’s pre-
sentation in the pamphlet recently published by the Trustees of the John
F. Slater Fund of the facts brought to light by the Eleventh Census con-
cerning the occupations of the negroes. The treatise is a model of lucid
condensation, the brief compass of a dozen pages sufficing for a most sat-
isfactory setting forth of the following important facts and conclusions,
viz., that the negro is mainly engaged either in agriculture or personal
service ; that he has in a generation made little progress in manufactures,
transportation, or trade ; that males are in greater proportion engaged in
agriculture and females in domestic service ; that the negro has during
this generation made good progress toward acquiring property, especially
in the form of homes and farms, and that, in just so far as he has acquired
possession of real estate, it is safe to say he has become more valuable as
a citizen. The author’s conclusion that the outlook for the Afro-Ameri-
can race is very favorable as agriculturists, but that there is little prospect
that they will become an important factor in manufactures, transporta-
tion, or commerce seems to be fully warranted by the expei’ience of the
last thirty years.

With the possible exception of the Yearbook of the Department of
Agriculture, of which 500,000 copies are printed annually, there is no
publication of the United States Government that is consulted more fre-
quently or for more important purposes than are the Annual Report on
Commerce and Navigation, published by the Bureau of Statistics of the
Treasury Department, and the Statistical Abstract, issued annually from
the same office. These volumes contain the statistics of e\'i)orts and im-
jjorts, those of immigration and of the currency, and, for a large number
of important commodities, those of total and per capita consumption and
of market prices. They an? continually being consulted and quoted by
politicians of every party and economists and financiers of every school,
and however conflicting the conclusions j^rofessedly drawn from them,
the figures themselves are usually accepted without ijiiestion. It is there-
fore much to be regretted that the value of tlie volumes for 1S!)5 is so
greatly impaired by the want of care with which the figures for the last
fi.scal year have been conq)iled. While many of tlie errons are not of
sufficient magnitude to seriously affect totals or percentages, and are
therefore of consequence only so far as they help fo di-stroy the conli-
•lenceof the reader in the I’ontentsof the volumes in general, this cannot
be said of them all. In several cases they are of more or less far-reach-
ing effect, while one by no means self-evident error of ten million dol-

214

NATIONAL GEOGRAPIITC SOCIETY:

lars plays havoc in all its relations. The efficient and respected Chief
of the Bureau, who has in so many different ways added to the scope and
value of these publications, makes a strong appeal to Congress for addi-
tional clerical assistance, the number of persons employed in the Bureau
not luiving been increased during a period of nearly thirty }’ears. Al-
though the compilation of so enormous a mass of figures involves an
amount of labor of wdiich the average Congressman has not the slightest
conception, it is not too much to hope that more adecpiate provision will
hereafter be made for the work of this most important Bureau. The per-
fect indifference with which statistical inaccuracies are regarded is truly
deplorable. Our legislators themselves are <-onstant and serious offenders,
numerical statements in tlie daily press are rarely to be relied u}wn, and
even our most pretentious works of reference are not free from errors that
are absolutely inexcusable. In the article on agi'iculture, for example, in
one of our best known cyclo])edias, an eminent college professor is re-
s])onsible for the statement, among others equally erroneous, that the
United States contains nearly a billion horses, or'over fifty times the num-
ber it actually does or ever did contain. It is useless to take refuge in the
plea of non-infallibility. No publication, whether official or non-official,
can afford to make misstatements that are more than mere elusive, typo-
graphical errors. J. Hydk.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
SOCIETY, SESSION i895-’96

Sj'iecud Meeting, March 27, Vice-President Ogden in the chair.

Hon. James II. Eckels, Comptroller of the Currency, addressed the
Society on the Geographic History of Cnrrency.

Special Meeting, March 30, 189G. — Fifth IMonday afternoon lecture. ]\Ir
W J McGee in the chair. Prof Harry Fielding Reid described and illus-
trated the Glaciers of Alaska, exhibiting many original views by means
of the lantern.

Regular Meeting, April 3, Vice-President Gannett in the chair.

IMr Robert T. Hill read a paper on the Greer County Case.

Specutl Meeting, April 6, 1896. — Sixth Monday afternoon lecture. Presi-
dent Hubbard in tbe chair. The President announced that Prof Wm. H.
Dali, who was to have addressed the Society, was prevented from doing
so by illness, and that Mr IMarcus Baker had kindly consented to take his
])lace. IMr Baker then described the voyage from Sitka westward to Attn
island, with lantern-slide illustrations.

Special Meeting, April 10, 1896. — President Hubbard in the chair. Mr
Wm. F. Mannix addressed the Society on Cuba as Seen by a War Corre-
spondent, with lantern-slide illustrations.

Special Meeting, April 13, —Seventh Monday afternoon lecture.
President Hubbard in tbe chair. Prof. I. C. Russell described his visit

ITS PROCEEDINGS

215

to the interior of Alaska, up the Yukon and Porcupine rivers, and across
the Chilcat pass to Lynn canal, illustrating his address by means of a
large map and numerous lantern slides. The President announced that
this was the last of the special afternoon course, and that the subject of
the Lenten course of 1897 would probably be an illustrated tour across
the Atlantic and through the Mediterranean.

Regular Meeting, April 17, 1896. — President Hubbard in the chair. Hon.
Fred. T. Dubois, U. S. S., read a paper, illustrated by lantern slides, on
the Geography, Scenery, and Resources of Idaho.

The following amendments to the by-laws were offered in writing, to
come up for action at the annual meeting;

By Vice-President Greely: Article V, Dues. Add after second para-
graph : “ Suitable rebates may be made, in the discretion of the Board of
Managers, in the annual dues of members elected in February, March,
Aju'il, and May.”

By Secretary Hayden : Add the following new article: “Article IX.
Seal. The seal of the Society shall consist of a polyconic projection of
the western hemisphere, from 0° to 180° west from Greenwich, with the
legend ‘ National Geographic Society ’ above and ‘ Incorporated A. D.
1888’ below, as in the design herewith.”

Special Meeting, April 24, 1896. — Hon. Gardiner G. Hubbard, President
of the Society, delivered the annual address from the chair, taking for
his subject the Progress of Africa since 1888, with special Reference to
South Africa and Abyssinia. The addi’ess was accompanied by lantern-
slide illustrations.

Special Meeting, May 8, 1896. — President Hubbard in the chair. Mr
George F. Kunz read a paper, with lantern-slide illustrations, on Geog-
raphy as Illustrated by Precious Stones.

Regular Meeting, May 15, 1896. — Eighth Annual Meeting of the Society.
President Hubbard in the chair. The Secretary and Treasurer i^resented
their annual reports. Pending amendments to the by-laws were con-
sidered and adopted as follows :

Article V, Dues. Add, after second paragraph, “ Suitable rebates may
be made, in the discretion of the B(jard of Managers, in the annual dues
of members elected in April and May.”

Add the following new article :

“Article IX, Seal. The seal of the Society shall consist of a polyconic
projection of the western hemisphere, from 0° to 180° west from Green-
wich, with the legend ‘National Geographic Society’ above and ‘ Incor-
j^orated A. D. 1888’ below, as in the design herewith.”

Mr Wm. A. De Caindry and Col. H. C. Rizer were appointe<l a com-
mittee to audit the Society’s accounts.

The Presi<lent announced that, in accordance with the re.«olution
adopte<l by the Society at a meeting held December 27, 1895, the Board
of Managers had cliussified its members in three groups of six members
each, as follows: To retire in May, 1890, Mr C. .1. Bell, Hon. C. IV. Dab-
ney, .fr., Mr G. K. (iilbert, .Mr II. G. Ogden, lion. J. R. Procter, and
Miss K. R. Scidmore; in May, 1897, Mr Marcus Baker, Mr II. F. Rloiint,
Lieut. E. Hayden, DrC. Hart .Merriam, Prof. \V. B. Powell, and Mr.I. B.

216

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY

"Wight; in May, 1808, Mr Hy. Gannett, Gen. A. "W. Greely, Hon. Gardi-
ner G. Hubbard, Mr J. Hyde, ]\Ir "W J McGee, and Mr F. H. Newell.

The Society then elected the following-named gentlemen members of
the Board of ^Managers for a term of three years: Mr C. J. Bell, Hon.
C. AV. Dabney, Jr., Prof. AVm. H. Dali, Dr David T. Day, Mr G. K. Gil-
bert, and Mr H. G. Ogden.

Special Meeting, May 16, 1896. — Eighth Annual Excursion and Field
fleeting. About .300 members and guests went by special train to Char-
lottesville, A^a., and there visited Monticello (the home of Jefferson) and
the University of A'irginia. The meeting was held at Alonticello, Presi-
dent Hubbard in tbe chair, and addresses were made by Alayor Patton,
of Charlottesville ; President Randolph, of the University ; General A. AA^.
Greely, Dr Randolph McKim, Prof. AA'" J McGee, Dr G. Brown Goode,
and other gentlemen. After lunch the party visited the Univ^ersitj' and
were received by the faculty, returning to AA'^ashington the same evening.

Elections. — New members have been elected as follows :

April 3. — Edward Bailey, Alaj. Geo. A^. Boutelle, Mrs L. A. Bradley,
Henry G. Bryant, Dr John P. Davis, Mrs James AI. Foster, 8. L. Lupton,
Frank C. Allies, Thos. C. Noyes, Dr Heinrich Ries, Geo. F. Thompson.

April 17. — Dr S. AA’. Beyer, Lieut. AA’. V. Bronaugh, U. S. N., Lewis
Clephane, Alaj. H. L. Cranford, Aliss S. B. Hale, Geo. AV. Holdrege,
Alaj. James AI. Alorgan, Alex. R. Alullowny, T. AV. Neill, Gen. Albert
Ordway, Horace L. Piper, Aliss Elizabeth AA’right, Henry Xander.

May 4. — AA’. L. Atkin, E. B. Baldwin, Hiram E. Deats, Dr Johnson
Eliot, Aliss E. F. Fisher, J. C. Gifford, Chas. Hallock, Rev. P. AI.- AIc-
Teague, Chas. A. Perkins, Chas. S. Prosser.

May 15. — James 0. Brooks, Dr AVm. D. Cabell, Aliss Ella Loraine Dor-
sey, Gen. AI. F. Force, AA’. F. Foster, Airs H. D. Green, F. AA’. Perkins,
AVm. E. Rogers, Lorin P. Smith, Hon. J. Randolph Tucker, AA’. A. Turk.

Obitcary. — The Society has to deplore the deaths of three of its mem-
bers— Air Charles Addison Alann, Jr., who died Alarch 12; Alajor
AVilliam Holcomb AA’ebster, the well known and much respected Chief
Examiner of the Civil Service Commission, who expired suddenl}" on
Alarch 23, and Judge A’ictor C. Barringer, formerly and for many years
a distinguished member of the International Court of Appeals at Alex-
andria, Egypt, whose death occurred Alay 27.

Officers for 1896-’97. — At a meeting of the Board of Alanagers, held
June 5, 1896, the following were elected officers of the Society for the
ensuing year : President, Hon. Gardiner G. Hubbard ; A’ice-Presidents,
Air Alarcus Baker, U. S. Geological Survey ; Prof. AA’m. H. Dali, Smith-
sonian Institution; Air G. K. Gilbert, U. S. Geological Survey; Gen. A.
AA’. Greely, U.S.A., Chief Signal Officer; Dr C. Hart Alerriam, U. S. De-
partment of Agriculture, and Air Herbert G. Ogden ; Treasurer, Air C. J.
Bell, President of the American Security and Trust Company ; Recording
Secretary, Lieut. Everett Hayden, U.S.N. ; Corresponding Secretary, Air
Henry Gannett, U. S. Geological Survey.

GEOGRAPHIC NOTES

NORTH AMERICA

Newfoundland. The Newfoundland seal fishery has ended in a total
catch of 196,485 seals, weighing 4,637 tons and of the value of $268,000.

Mexico. The imports of British cottons into Mexico in 1895 were nearly
double those of the preceding year, although the Mexican mills were
favored by protection and also by the low price of silver.

Canada. The Royal Society of Canada has adopted a memorial to the
governor-general praying his intervention with the imperial government
in favor of the unification of nautical, civil, and astronomical time, the
reform to come into effect on the first day of the new century.

The Canadian and British governments have come to an agreement
relative to the subsidization of a fast steamship service between Liverpool,
or some other English port, and Quebec in summer, and Halifax, Nova
Scotia, in wipter. The vessels are to be in every respect equal to the best
steamers running into New York.

SOUTH AMERICA

British Guiana. About 20 miles have been completed of the railroad
that is being constructed from Kartabo point, at the junction of the
Mazaruni and Cuyuny rivers and opposite the mining town of Bartica,
to the interior of the country. Another enterprise that will facilitate
access to the interior is the line that is being built from AVismar, on the
Demerara river, to a point on the Esequibo above the dangerous falls that
interfere with the navigation of that stream. Two other lines, both in
the Barima mining district, are being rapidly pushed to completion.

EUROPE

Austria. Large vessels can now sail right up the Danube to Vienna,
and tlie construction of ship canals connecting the Danube, Oder, and
Vistula, and also between Budapest and Fiume, is strongly advocated.

E.ngl.vnd. Tlie total receipts of the Manchester Ship Canal for the first
four months of the present year showed an increase of more than $55,000
on those for the corre.sponding period of 1895.

The president of tlie Royal Geographical Society, Mr C. R. Alark-
ham, receivetl the honor of knighthood on the recent anniver.sary of
Queen Victoria’s birthday.

The Founders’ medal of the Royal Geographical Society has been
awarded to Sir W. Macgregor for his valuable geograi)hical work in New
Guinea; the Patrons’ me<lal to Mr St. George R. Littleilale for his expe-
ditions in Central Asia; the Mun;hison award to Khan Bahadur Yusuf
Sharif, native Indian surveyor; the (till memorial to Mr A. P. Low for
explorations in I.«abrador ; the Black grant to Mr .1. Burr Tyrrell for his

217

218

GEOGRAPHIC NOTES

expeditions to the Barren Grounds of northwest Canada, and the Cuth-
bert Peck grant to Mr Alfred Sharjje for his many journeys in British
Central Africa.

Fk.\xce. According to the recent census, the population of Paris is
now 2,511,955, an increase of 87,250 in five years.

The proposed ship canal between the bay of Biscay and the Mediter-
ranean is pronounced impracticable as a private enterprise, and the com-
missioners fui'ther report that it offers no such strategic or other advan-
tages as would justify its construction by the government.

The activity and influence of the Societe de Geographie de Paris are
indicated by the fifteen medals and prizes just awarded as follows ;
1. Great Gold Medal, Prince Henri d’Orleans, Exploration from gulf
of Tonkin to gulf of Bengal ; 2. Gold Medal, Captain G. Toutee, Ex-
plorations tlirough Dahomey and on the Niger ; 3. Logerot Medal, Com-
mander Decoeuer, The Niger Mission; 4. Fournier Medal, L. Romsselet,
The New Dictionary of Universal Geography ; 5. Malte-Brun Medal, E.
Chantre, Ethnogi-aphical and archeological investigations in the Caucasus;

6. JJeicez Medal, F.-J. Clozel, Explorations to the north of Upper Sangha ;

7. Herbert- Fournel Medal, A. Pavie, Explorations in Indo-China and his
efforts to extend the power of France in the far East; 8. Bourbonnaud
Medal, L. Lapicque, Voyage in the Persian gulf and study of the Negritos ;
9. iJuveyrier Medal, Commander Decazes, Investigations of French Congo
and surveys north of Abiras; 10. Morot Medal, J, Renaud and C. Rollet
de L’Jsle, Surveys in the Pai-tsi-long archipelago. Tonkin; 11. Montherot
Medal, R. de Saint Arroman, Study of geographic enterj)rises of the Min-
ister of Public Instruction ; 12. Grad Medal, A.-M. Gochet, Works on
geographic instruction; 13. Huber Medal, F.-A. Forel, Work on lake
Ixunan and on glaciers ; 14. Jaimen Medal, F. Foureau, Physical observa-
tions and explorations in the Sahara; 15. Jomard prize, H. Froidevaux,
Memoirs of travel in French Guya.nne.

Geu.m.vny. The final report of the census of the German Empire, taken
December 2, 1895, shows a total population of 52,244,503, an increase of
nearly three millions within five years.

The traffic receipts of the North Sea and Baltic Ship Canal have so far
been vei'y disappointing. A traffic of 7,500,000 tons and receipts of nearly
5,000,000 marks per annum had been counted on, whereas the first eight
months’ receipts amounted to only 605,050 marks and rei)resented a tratfic
of only 976,478 tons.

It.\i,y. The population of Rome on December 31, 1895, is officially
reported as 471,801, an increase of 35,621 since December 31, 1891. For
some unexplained reason no enumeration was made of such of the inhab-
itants of the city as were without fixed abode, their number being assumed
to be the same as at the census of 1891, viz., 28,765. The number having
fixed abodes was 431,881 and the garrison 11,155.

ASIA

The French authorities at Chentabun are making a road to Bat-
tambang and constructing a telegraph line.

GEOGRAPHIC NOTES

219

Upper Bcrma. Active operations looking to the development of the
mineral wealth of Upper Burma are about to be commenced. A promis-
ing gold reef has been discovered in the Wuntho district, and coal of ex-
cellent quality is reported from Lawksawk, in the Southern Shan country.

. Cni.v.A. An imperial edict directs the constniction of a railway from
Shanghai to Soochow, 65 miles, at an estimated cost of 2,000,000 taels.
Shares for one-half the amount are offered to the public at Shanghai.
Only Chinese stockholders will be admitted, and the government will
retain control. The government has sanctioned a large increase in the
production of salt as an additional source of revenue for the rej^ayment of
the Russian loan.

Turkestan. The Russian government is said to have decided to take
another step toward getting within striking distance of Herat. A broad-
gauge railway is to be built from Merv to a point near the Afghan fron-
tier, a distance of about 130 miles, and all necessary material is to be
collected at the far end of the line for the rapid extension of the road to
Herat, a further distance of only 94 miles, in the event of war. Authority
has also been given to the Turkestan administration to begin the build-
ing of a railroad along the Oxus from Charjui, where the river is bridged,
to Kerki, within a short distance of the Afghan frontier.

AFRICA

West Coast. An amicable settlement of the boundaries between Sene-
gal and Gambia has been arrived at by the French and English commis-
sioners.

Ea.st Coast. In the British Colony of Natal there are more than
51,000 Indian laborers, and the Europeans are clamoi’ing for the prohi-
bition of further immigration.

Profe-ssor Elliot’s Expedition. Consul Masterson reports that Prof.
D. G. Elliot and Messrs Akeley and Dodson arrived at Aden April 14,
where they procured 70 Somalis, 80 camels, and 20 horses and mules. A
week later they crossed to Berliera, on the Somali coast. An absence of
10 months is planned, during which they will cross Somali into Gallaland
and pass to the south of Juba river. The main object of the journey is
the collection of mammals, but no effort will be spared to make the
zoological collection varied and complete.

Dr S.mith’s Expedition. Interest is added to Elliot’s journey by the
very successful exiiedition of Dr A. Donaldson Smith, of Pliiladelpliia,
who left Berbera July 10, 1894, and visited the unexi>lored country of
Gallaland, between Shebeli river and lake Rudolf. This lake, to tlie
northeast of Victoria Nvanza, was reacbe<l in July, 1895. After a jour-
ney of 4,000 miles. Dr Smith arrived at Lamu, on the ea.st coast, north of
Zanzibar, on October 25, 1895, having lost only six men in sixteen months.
His most interesting discovery was a race of pigmies, the Dunne, very
black, flat-nosed, large-lipped, woolly-haired, and averaging only five feet
in height, the tallest being 5 feet 2 inches. The most valuable results of
the expedition are the large and varied natural history collections, con-

220

MISCELLANEA.

sisting of 75 mammals ; 300 specimens of plants, 24 new ; 700 specimens
and 400 varieties of birds, 24 new ; 375 specimens of reptiles, 22 new, and
7,000 specimens of butterflies, 50 nev/.

POLAR REGIONS

The Wbidimnl, of the Jackson-Harmsworth expedition, will leave for
the Arctic regions early this month. She will carry letters for Dr Nansen,
on the chance of falling in with him north of Franz Josef Land.

Prof. Y. Nielsen, of the University of Christiania, states that at the
last moment Dr Nansen contemplated a change in his route. It was to
follow the sea of Kara along the east Coast of Nova Zembla and reach
Franz Josef Land to the north of the 80th parallel, whence he would
push to the north to seek polar currents. Nielsen believes that this
course has been followed by Nansen, since he failed to call for the dogs
and supplies collected for him at the mouth of the Olenek.

MISCELLANEA

Pkof. R. S. T.\rr will take a party of Cornell men to Greenland with
Lieut. Peary this summer. The intention is to spend five or six weeks in
studying the geology and natural history of a part of the coast north of
Upernavik. The main object will be the study of glaciation, but the party
will be so constituted that other subjects will receive full attention.

A Bronze Memori.vl Bust of Commodore G. W. Melville, Engineer-
in-Chief of the United States Navy and Chief of the Bureau of Steam
Engineering, has been presented to the Philadelphia Commander}' of the
Military Order of the Loyal Legion by a few of the friends and admirers
of that distinguished engineer and arctic explorer. The bust, which is
by Ellicott, is pronounced an excellent likeness.

Albert Perry Brigii.\m has recently published a noteworthy article
entitled “The New Geography” {Popular Science Monthly, April, 189()), in
which some of the characteristics of scientific geography are appreciatively
set forth. The geography of past generations related to earth-forms treated
as changeless units; the geography of the present generation treats of
earth-forms as landmarks in teri’estrial evolution, and leads to the con-
sideration of growth and decay, cause and effect, process and product,
and finally of the agencies of earth-making; the old geography was mere
description of dead forms, the new geographic description extends to his-
tory and cause. The contributions of Powell, Gilbert, Dutton, McGee,
Davis, and other American students of the new science are recognized,
Superintendent Powell’s activity in disseminating sound method is com-
mended, and the activity of the National Geographic Society in discovery
and in inculcating modern ideas is noticed. The article is of interest as
an indication of progress in the development and diffusion of scientific
geography, and its appearance in a journal not given to the recognition
of modern earth science is especially welcome.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE

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NATIONAL GEOGkAPlIIC MAGAZINE

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The National Geographic Magazine,

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branches of geogra])hic science:

Mr. Cyrus C. Adams, New York.

Dr. Cyrus Adler, Smithsouiau Institution.

Mr. Marcus Baker, U- S. Geological tpnrve)'.

Capt. John R. Bartlett, U. S. N.

Dr. Francis Brown, Union Tlieol. Seminary.

Hon. JetTeuson B. Browne, Collector of Cus-
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Dr. E. L- Corthell, C. E., New York.

Dr. Elliott Cones.

Hon. William E. Curtis, e.x-Director of the
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Mr. Frank Hamilton Cushing, Bureau of
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Dr. Charles W. Dabney, Jr., Assistant Secre-
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Dr. Win. H. Dali, Smith.sonian Institution.

Dr. George David.son, Pre.sident of the Geo-
graphical Society of the Pacific.

i\lr. Arthur P. Davis, U. S. Geological Snrve3\

i\Ir. Win. M. Davis, Professor of Physical Geog- ■
raphy in Harvard Universit3\

Dr. David T. Da\', Chief of the Div. of Mining
Statistics and Technology', U. S- Geol. Siir

Mr. J. S. Diller, U. S. Geological Survey.

H'lii. John W. Foster, ex-,Secretary of State.

Mr. Henry Gannett, Chief Geographer, U. S.
Geological Survey' and iith Census.

Mr. G. K. Gilbert, U. S. Geological Survey.

Gen. A. W. Greely, U. S. A., Chief Signal
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Hon. Gardiner G. Hubbard, President of the
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Lieut. liveretl Hay'deii, U. S. N., Secretary' of
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air. Robert T. Hill, U. S. Geological vSurvey'.

Mr. Win. H. Holmes. Dir. of the Dept, of An-
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Dr. Emil Holub, Vienna, Austria.

Dr. Sheldon Jackson. U. S. Coinmi.ssioner of
I'Mncation for Ahuska.

Mr. Willard D. Johnson, U. S. Geol. Survey.
Mr. Mark B. Kerr, C. E.

Mr. George Kennan.

Prof. William Libbey', Jr., Princeton Coll., N. J.
Prof. Py. McClure, University of Oregon.

Prof. W J McGee, Bureau of American Eth-
nology.

air. John E. aicGrath, U. S. Coast Survey'.
Admiral R. W. aieade', U. ,S. N,

Dr. T. C. aiendenhall. President of the Poly'-
technic Institute, Worcester, aia.ss.

Dr. C. Hart aierriam. Ornithologist and Mam-
malogist, U. S. Department of Agriculture.
Hon. John H. aiitchell, U. S. S.

Prof. W. L- aioore. Chief of Weather Bureau,
air. Frederick H. Newell, Chief Hydrographer
of the U. S. Geological Survey,
air. Herbert (i. Ogden, U. S. Coast Survey'.
Lieut. Robert E. Peary, U. S. N.

Mrs. Robert E. Peary.

Hon. Geo. C. Perkins, U. S. S.

Mr. William H. Pickering, Professor of Astron-
omy' in Harvard University',
aiajor John W. Powell, Director of the Bureau
of American Ethnology.

Prof. W. B. Powell, Superintendent of Schools,
District of Columbia.

Hon. John R. Procter, President of the U. S.

Civil .Service Commission,
air. Israel C. Russell, Professor of Geology in
the University of aiichigan.

Dr. N. vS. vShaler, Professor of Geology in Har-
vard University.

Commander Charles D. Sigsbee, Hydrographer
to the Bureau of Navigation, Navy' Dept,
aiiss Plliza Ruhamah .Scidmore.

Commander Z. L- Tanner, U. S. N.
air. Frank Vincent, New York.

Hon. Charles D. Walcott, Director of the U. S.

Geological .Survey,
airs. P'annie B. Ward.

air. Bailey Willis, U. S. Geological Survey.

PRINCIPAL CONTENTS OF RECENT NUMBERS.

JANUARY. — Rus.sia in Europe, with map, Hon. Gardiner G. Hubbard ; The Arctic Cruise
of the U. S. Revenue Cutter “Bear,” with illustrations. Dr. .Sheldon Jack.son ; The
Scope and Value of Arctic E.xploration, Gen. A. W. Greely, U. S. A.'

FEBRUARY. — Venezuela: Her Government, People, and Boundary', with map and ilhustra-
tions, William IL Curtis; The Panama Canal Route, with illustrations, Prof. Robert!'.
Hill ; The Tehuantepec .Ship Railway, with map.s, li. L. Corthell, C. IC., LL- D. ; The
Present .State of the Nicaragua Canal, Gen. A. W. Greely: I*yX])lorations by the Bureau
of .American Ivthnology, W J McGee. ^-Ilso map of the Orinoco valley, stunvin^: territory
(trained by that tvatencay and its bearing; on the V'encznelan Boundary Question.

MARCH. — The So-Calleil “ Jeannette Relics,” Prof. Wm. H. D.ill ; Nansen’s Polar hyXpedi-
tion, Gen. A. W. Greely; The Submarine Cables of the World, Gustave Herrle ; The
Survey and Snbilivision of Indian 'I'enilory, with map and illnstratitm, Henry Gannett;
“ I'ree Burghs” in the ITnited .States, James H. Blodgett. .Uso chart, p) x yo inches,
slunviny Submarine Teteyraph Cables of the World and I'rineipal Land Lines. P'ull-
paye portraits of Dr. Nansen and B> of Wm. If nail.

APRIL. — Seriliind, with maj) and illustration, W J McGee ami Willard I). Johnson ; The
Olymjnc Country, with map, the late S- C. Gilman; The Di.scoverv of Glacier B.iy,
Alaska, Ivli/.a Rnhanndi Scidmore ; Hydrography in the Unite<l States, b'rederick H.
Newell; Recent Triangnlatioii in the Cascailes, .S. ,S. Gannett; The Altitude of Mt.
.Afl.ims, Washington, b'dgar McClure.

MAY. — .Africa since iSSS, with special reference to South Africa ;iml .Abyssinia, with map,
Hon. (i.irdiner G. Hnbbanl ; I'umlamental Geographic Relation of the Three .Americas,
with maj). Prof. Robert!'. Ilill ; I'lie K.tnsas River, .Arthur P. Davis. c/Ao portrait of
lion. Oardiner (/. //uhbard, /’resident of the National Geoyraphic Society.

25 Cents per Number or $2.50 per Year.

THE JULY NUMBER

will contain among other important articles

A JOURNEY IN ECUADOR,

By mark B. KERR, C. E. ; _

GEOGRAPHIC NAMES,

By HENRY GANNETT,

Chief Geographer of the U. S. Geological Survey and President of the
U. S. Board on Geographic Names ;

• AND THE CONCLUSION OF THE ARTICLE BY

PROFESSOR W. M. DAVIS

THE SEINE, THE MEUSE, AND THE MOSELLE.

JVDD & DETWEILER, PRINTERS, WASHINGTON, D. C-

JULY, 1896

No. 7

\THLX

The

7'^ _

V'S'T

AN ILLUSTRATED

Honorary Editor: JOHN HYDE

A. W. QREEL

Honjorary Associate Editors j

^3ElQ ELIZA^ RUHAmAH SCIDMOI^E

' Ji-

. CONTENTS ; i / i

I PAGE

THE WORK pF THE U., S. BOA^ ON GEOTQI^APHIC NAMES.

' HENRY GANNETT. 221

t THE SEINEr l^PE MED^E. ANp THE MOSELLE, II. . /

1 T^(itti"maps. william m/dAVIS. 228

\ A JXJf^RNEY IN\BCUADOR^ MARK B. KERR, C. E 238

With map and illustrations.

THE ABERRATION OF SOUND AS ILLUSTRATED BY THE BERKE-
LEY POWDER EXPLOSION. With diagrams.

ROBERT H. CHAPMAN. 246
MINERAL PRODUCTION IN THE UNITED STATES. 250

^ Geographic Notes, p. 251; Miscellanea, p. 252.

WAsniyoTON

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T H E

National Geographic Society

OPvOANIZICD, JANUARY, 1888

rRRSIDKXT

GARDINER G. HUBBARD

31 ARCUS BAKER
WIEUAM II. DAM.
G. K. (ill.BERT

VlCE-PuESIDEX'rS

A. W. GREEIA" ^

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HERDERT G. OGDEN

Tue.vsukek
CHARLES ,1. BELL

REt'OKDI XC. SeCHCTA RY
E \’ ERETT 1 1 AA'DEN

Co RRESPOX DING SECRET RY

HENRY GANNETT

II. E. BLOUNT
C. W. DABNEY, Ju.
DAVID T. DAY
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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE
Back Numbers wanted by the Society.

tor the purpose of making up complete sets of the Magazine,
the National Geographic Society is prepared to purchase at rea-
sonable prices the following back numbers :

Of Vol. I, 1889, numbers 2 and 4; of Vol. II, 1890, num-
bers 2 and 3 ; of Vol. IV, 1892, numbers 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

Members of the Society or other persons having spare copies
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Address ; EVERETT HAYDEN, Secretary,

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NAT. GEOG. MAG.

VOL. VII, 1896, PL. XXV

See page 242.

HANDIWORK OF THE CAYAPAS INDIANS, ECUADOR
From an Original Photograph by Mark B. Kerr, C. E.

THE

Yol. VII JULY, 1896 No. 7

THE WORK OF THE UNITED STATES BOARD ON
GEOGRAPHIC NAMES

By Henry Gannett,

Chairman of the Board and Chiif Geographer of t]>e U. S. Geological Survey
and of the Tenth and Eleventh Censuses

This board was originally constituted, in the early part of
1890, as a voluntaiy association of officers of various depart-
ments of the government for the purpose of securing uniformit}"
in the official spelling of geographic names. It was the result,
in the main, of the efforts of Dr T. C. Mendenhall, then Super-
intendent of the U. S. Coast and Geodetic Surve}g who was
chosen its first chairman. It was given standing and authority
by an executive order of September 4, 1890, which reads as
follows :

“A.s it is desirable tliat uniform usa^e in regard to geogra])hic nomen-
clature and orthography oldain throughout the e.xecntive de])artments
of the government, and i)articnlarly upon the maps and charts i.ssned l)y
the various de[)artments and bureaus, I hereby constitute a Loard on
Geographic Names and designate the following persons, who have here-
tof(we cooperated for a similar purpose under the authority of the several
departments, l>ureaus, and institutions with which thej' are connected,
as members of said board. ... To this board shall be referred all
unsettled (piestious c(jncerning geographic names which arise in the de-
partments, and the decisions of the board are to be accepted by these
<lei)artments as the standard authority in such matters.” . . .

The board now consists of representatives of the following
departments ami bureaus: State, M'ar, and Navy departments,
Light-House Board, Coast and Geodetic Survey, Geological Sur-
vey,General Land Office, Rost Odice De[)artinent, and Smith-
sonian Institution.

]VORK OF THE BOARD OX GEOGRAPHIC NAMES

222

During the five years or more of its existence the board has
held 48 meetings and has decided 2,835 cases. Its modus ope-
raudiis simple and direct. The cases of dis]nited nomenclature
which reach it are referred at once to an executive committee
consisting at present of the representatives of the Geological
Surve.y, Navy Department, and Coast and Geodetic Survey. An
investigation of each case is made by this executive committee,
which reports it, with recommendations, to the board, which
makes a final decision. For such decision a majority of the
entire board is necessaiy. It not infrequently happens, there-
fore, that it is only by a unanimous vote of those present at a
meeting that definite action can be taken.

Geographic names ma}" be broadh’' distinguished into two
classes : tliose which are established b}'- usage, commonly local
usage, and those which are not so established. In regard to the
former class, the primary })rincii>le which controls the decisions
of the board is that local usage ouglit to prevail. What the
people call themselves and what they call tlie natural features
lying within their jurisdiction should, unless there is good
reason to the contrary, be the names thereof. That tliis is just
and proj)er surely goes without sa}dng. In general, every man
has a right to insist that other people call him by the name
which he selects and accept that spelling of his name which he
chooses to adopt. The rights which a man has over his own
name, a community has over its own name and over the names
of all natural features hung within its jurisdiction. Lest it
should appear that I am dwelling too much on this aspect of
the case and arguing a self-evident proi>osition, let me quote
from an article recently published in Justus Perthes’ Geograph-
ische Mittheilungen, which will show that there are men, and
men of eminence, too, who do not accept this principle.

“Tlie practical Americans have had since 1890 a Bureau of Geographic
Names. . . . The establishment of this Bureau on Geograpliic Names

and its first decisions were referred to in our last report. We gave a
hearty greeting to the new creation, and added to the greeting a few sug-
gestions; but these have not been considered. Nay, more, tlie later de-
cisions of the board, about 700 in number, relating to geographic names
at home and abroad, correspond still less to the most reasonable expecta-
tions. We miss the principle that the original form of the name, the
meaning and etymology of the name, the motive for naming, is to be con-
sidered, and considered first and foremost. We miss the scientific spirit,
which, instead of cleaving to the form, unlocks the intrinsic meaning,
and accordingly we miss in the works of a government board of names
all evidence of acquaintance with toponymic literature.”

WORK OF THE BOARD ON GEOGRAPHIC NAMES 223

Summarizing a discussion which took place before the National
Geographic Society on the subject of geographic names, the same
author says :

“Only the last named among the four speakers has a word to say in
behalf of the original forms of the nomenclature introduced by discovery
and explorers, or received from the Indians; but his chain pionshi]) is timid
and surrounded by wide reservation. Nowhere do we find the principle
laid down that the original forms of names, esiiecially Indian names,
which are so true to life, are to be preserved as much as possible. A
board of names hasmo easy task. It has not merely to give ‘decisions,’
but also to base these decisions on thorough study, and to inform the
public, so far as necessary, of the grounds on which they are made. AVe
wish to know from what variations the form selected has been picked out ;
and this statement will serve to show the amount of knowledge of litera-
ture possessed and the scientific principle followed, and will itself win for
the decision the confidence of the interested circles. Only this method
turns out solid work ; any other procedure merely replaces private caprice
by otficial caprice. This official caprice is able to turn a ‘ Golfo Triste ’
(sad bay) into a ‘ Gulf of Triste,’ thus manufacturing a personal name or
place name, Triste, alter which the bay must have been named. It is
well known that this feature is the arm of the sea between the Orinoco
and Trinidad, to which the Dragon’s gorge forms the northern entrance,
a passage which was deserted and feared even in the time of Columbus,
because ships, driving with spread sails under brisk west wind against the
mighty current of the Orinoco, are exposed to danger. The above-men-
tioned decision of the board of names has masked the physical fact and
formally falsified an expressive geographic name.”

With regard to tliis ca.se, it may be stated that the hoard has
made no decision whatever. It has not come before it.

“ In the United States and elsewhere there are undoubtedly an infinity
of names and places of obscure origin, and for which a decision has to be
made without giving i-easons. Be it so. We recognize the necessity
where it exists ; but just as positively must we demand that the decision
be made on scientific grounds whenever possible.”

Dr Egli, the writer of this article, is well known as one of the
leading geographers of Europe and one who has given mucli
attentifm to this subject of geographic names. It seems to me
clear, however, and in that view I know that I share the opinion
of the other members of the hoard, that he is radically wrong in
the views he here presents, lie states the exact fact when he
says that “We mi.ss tlie prineii>le that the original form of the
name, the meaning, tlie etymology of tlie name, the motive for
naming, is to he considered, and considered /f'rs^ ixnd foroiirntP

It is true that the hoard attaches little importance to these

224

^yORK OF THE BOARD ON GEOGRAPHIC NAMES

matters. On the contrary, its fundamental principle, as before
stated — a principle which has controlled many hundreds of its
decisions — is that local usage, the prevalent usage of the people
living in the neighborhood, should be followed. By this it is
not meant that local usage has absolutely controlled in all cases.
Departures have been made whenever, for other reasons, such a
course seemed wise, but this principle has controlled the de-
cisions of the board in nine cases out of ten. I have already
touched on its validity. Concerning its expediency, I may say
that unless the decisions of the board are adopted by the peoi)le
and generally followed its work will be a hiilure. It was con-
stituted not to restore corrui)ted forms to so-called pure forms,
but to secure uniformity of usage. There is not force enough
in any government, at least not enough in the government of
the United States, to make the people do what they do not Avish
to do. To fly in the face of the community is like attempting
to dam uj) a river and force it to flow up hill.

To adopt as the “ first and foremost ” j)rinciple the one formu-
lated by Dr Egli, that the original forms of names be restored,
Avould lead to some startling results, results Avbicb he surely does
not full}" appreciate. Geograi)hic names in the United States
have been modified, changed, distorted, corrupted, if you will,
to an astonishing extent. To throAV aside these corrupted but
Avell established names and replace them by old and forgotten
forms would involve wholesale changes, such as would find no
following among the peoi)le of the United States. The name
Avhich was accepted fifty or a hundred years ago is not the name
in use at i)resent; today the people accei>t something else.

An example of corru[)tion is seen in the name Bol)ruly, ap-
plied to a creek in Missouri. The original Avill. of course, be
recognized as Bois Brule. Again, Rum river, Wisconsin, AA'as
originally the St. Esprit, which, translated, became S[)irit river,
and thence, by some pundit, rendered in its ])resent form. For
a Avhole century Wisconsin Avas spelled Ouisconsing. Would
there be any right or propriety in reverting to that spelling and
requiring the citizens of the Badger State to adopt it in place of
the present form ? Shall Ave attempt to revive the nasne Illinois
or Illinovacks in place of Michigan for one of the Great Lakes.
Ouabash for Wabash, and apjjly it to the Ohio river, or call it
La Belle Riviere? Should Ave substitute Kichi Gummi, Grand
Lac, Tracy, Conde, or Algona for Lake Superior, and lhankton
for Yankton? Shall Ave call the Mississippi the St. Francis, the

WORK OF THE B6ARD ON GEOORA PHIC NAMES 225

Colbert, the Conception, or the St. Louis ; shall we change Mis-
souri into Missouries or St. Phillip, and Iowa into loway?

M"e might go on and quote thousands of names that have
been changed to a greater or less extent, but these few will
suffice to illustrate the matter. Examination of old maps of
the United States shows that a majority of the geographic names
now in use have been changed since the}^ were first applied ;
consequently it Avould be utterl}'’ impracticable to ignore the
forms to which the people are now accustomed, even if there
were no impropriety in so doing. In short, it is impossible,
even were it desirable, to restore the original forms of names.

The principle above enunciated is a far-reaching one, and it
will be well, before entering upon a discussion of the exceptions
which the board makes to it, to follow it and see to what it leads
us. The names of many features in foreign countries have from
time out of mind been known to English-speaking i)eople by
names other than those ajiplied by their inhabitants. The Ger-
mans call their country Deutschland, the Italians call theii’s
Italia, the Spaniards Espana. The citizens of certain places in
Italia call their cities Livorno, Roma, Venecia, but we call them
1)3’- other names in a way that is utterly unwarranted. Eveiy
American resents having a Frenchman call our countiy Les Etats
Unis, and properly, for it is not its name. There is no more
sense in translating a geographic name than a person’s name.
A name is not a common noun, that it should be translated. The
time is ap})arentl_y not ripe for ado})ting the home names of all
foreign geographic features, but, speaking for myself, I have no
doubt that it will soon be feasible to institute this reform. In-
deed, in almost every individual case of this sort that has been
lu'ought before the board the decision has been rendered in favor
of the home name.

The universal adoj)tion of this principle would, however, lead to
many inconsistencies. For instance, in many cases what is plainly
the same name a]»pears in different ))arts of the United States
as a designation of different features, with different spellings.
In such cases should these different spellings be unified? The
tendency of the board (hnibtless is in that direction, l)iit in nianv
cases they not old}' rim against strong local usage but against
legal anthorit}' as well. Wichita, Washita, and Ouachita are the
same word ; so with \\'\’andot, Wyandotte, and (Jnyandot. All
are familiar with the name Allegheny, Iimiji, (iin/, applied to
counties in New York, I’ennsylyania, \firgiida. West \'irginia,

226 TI’Oi?A" OF THE BOARD ON GEOGRAPHIC NAMES

and North Carolina, and to mountain ranges and a river. As a
county name it is spelled in three different forms, each of which
is fortified by legislative acts, legal documents, and no end of
local usage. It is desirable to make the spelling uniform ; but
can it be done? In such a case the board is between tlie devil
and the deep sea. Consistency in following local usage pro-
duces inconsistency in orthography. In some cases of this sort,
where the board was of the opinion that local usage could be
overcome, it has adopted a uniform spelling, but in other cases
it has refrained from making decisions.

In the matter of geographic names, as in everything else, de-
velopment is constantly going on; names are continually chang-
ing, being modified in some cases slightl}% in other cases radicall,v.
Is it best that this develojnnent should be suffered to go on
blindly, as development has proceeded throughout the world
in times past, or will it be more economical and will the results
be more satisfactoiw and be attained at less cost if it be guided
intelligently? Surely no one will hesitate to admit that the
latter is the better condition. Recognizing this course of de-
velopment in geograj)hic names, the board has studied it with
a view to ascertaining its trend, of discovering what changes
are going on, and what their result is likely to be in the future,
and, acting upon the knowledge thus acquired, it has endeav-
ored to guide the course of development into the best channels,
so as to ju'oduce good results from it as speedily as i)racticable.
The most marked direction in which development is proceeding
is that of simplification. Useless letters are being dropped,
hyphens are being omitted ; appendages to names, such as the
word city, town, court-house, cross-roads, etc., are one after an-
other l)eing dro})]5ed. The possessive form of names is being
given up. Life is too short to expend it in writing these useless
words and letters. Names consisting of more than one word
are b^ng run together into one word. In these and many
other ways the course of develoj:)ment is toward simplification
and abbreviation. Of these changes the hoard heartily approves
and it is going as fast and as far in the direction of furthering
them as it believes the public will support it. To go faster or to
go further at the ]n’esent time would be to discredit itself, and
this the board prefers not to do. Another tendency in develop-
ment is towar<l uniformity in spelling. Certain names ending
in hurg were formerly spelled burgh, others burg, necessitating
constant reference to gazetteers in order to learn whether the

WORK OF THE BOARD ON GEOGRAPHIC NAMES

227

name had a final hov not. The board at one stroke relieved the
American public of this necessity b}'’ striking off the h in every
case. The same thing was done with the termination ugh of
borough and for the same purpose. Similarl}'- the word centre is
now uniformly spelled center wherever it appears as a part of a
geographic name.

There is one other class of names to be considered, that is,
names in remote, unsettled parts of the country, where there is
no local usage. These are mainly of Indian origin, and they
may be said to be still in an unsettled state, like the country in
which they are found. How do we obtain Indian names ? The
spelling given to an Indian name represents the way in which
some white man understood some Indian to pronounce it, and
every one knows that in such a case there will be just as many
different spellings of an Indian name as there are white men to
hear it and Indians to pronounce it. From our Northwest we
could, if space permitted, give hundreds of such names, each of
them with a dozen or perhaps twenty different versions, and each
version just as correct as any other. In such cases the board
selects from among the different versions the one which seems
to represent the sound the most clearly and most simply.

Early in the life of the board a long list of Alaskan names was
sui)initted to it for decision. These names were referred by the
board to some half-dozen gentlemen, all of whom were known as
Alaskan geographers, and the subsequent decisions were based
upon the weight of evidence submitted by these specialists. Of
course, the decisions did not in all cases please all persons ac-
quainted with Alaskan names.

In the matter of names in unsettled countries under foreign
jurisdiction, the ])olicy of the board has been to accept the spell-
ing of the nation having jurisdiction there.

The work involved in making these decisions is in the main
simple in character. Although much of it involves investiga-
tion, it is common every-day investigation, consisting mainly in
finding out what people call themselves. The matters with
which the boanl are concerned arc not, as a rule, scientific mat-
ters. They are sim[)ly matters of fact or judgment. The board
is often criticised for inc(msistency in its decisions; with having
decided one way in one case and a dill'erent way in another case
whicli appears to l»e (piih! similar. I think tlu^ board is (luito
read}’’ to plead guilty to the charge of inconsistency, but with
extenuating circumstances, since c<jnsistency in certain matters
involves inconsistency in others.

THE SEINE, THE MEUSE, AND THE MOSELLE

By MTlliam M. Davis
Professor of Physical Geography in Harvard University

Dhersion of the upper Moselle from the Meuse. — After this long
digression let us now return to the case of the Meuse and see
whether indications can he found that any of its branches have
been diverted to the basins of the Seine or of the Moselle. The
first example to he mentioned is found in the neigld^orhood of
Toul, and for simplicity of description I shall take the liberty
of changing the names of tlie streams in this region in accord-
ance with the adjoining diagram, the actual names being given
in thin-lined letters, the assumed names in heavy-lined letters.
Tlie case may then l)e brietly stated as follows : The Toul (upper
Moselle; once tlcnved through a meandering valley and joined
the Meuse at the little village of Pagny-sur-Meuse. The mean-
dering valley trenches an u|)land of middle oolite strata, Imt in
the course of time the Po!npe\'. a branch of the Moselle, pushed
away the divide at its head, tap))ed the Toul where the city
of that name now stands, and diverted it from the ^leuse to the
Moselle. *

The first fact to note is that the abandoned valley between
Toul and Pagny swings on large curved meanders, after the

* My attention was first called to this example bj’ my kind friend, M. Emm. de Mar-
Kcrie, wtio was so good as to refer me to the writings of several French autliors by
wliom it had t)een described more or less fully' and to wliose essays I thereupon re-
ferred either in the original or in some citation. The earliest writer to make mention
of this change in the course of the Toul seems to have been Boblay’e, (i) who in 1829
reported that he found pebbles in the valley of the Meuse unlike the rocks of its upper
Vjasin. but like those of the upper valley of the Toul in the Vosges mountains. Buvig-
nier (2) gave a fuller account of the same facts in 1852 and came to the same conclu-
sion. Housson(3) wrote on the same subject in 1804, but I have not seen his article.
The latest account of the case is by Godron (4) in 1876. .All these authors recognize
what may be called the geological evidence of the change, that is, the occurrence of
pebbles from the Toul in the valley of the Meuse ; but as far as I have read, they did
not give particular care to the geographical features of the case. It is to these, there-
fore, that special attention is here called.

(1) -Mem. sur la formation jurassique dans le nord de la France. .Ann .Sci. Nat., 1829.

(2) Statistique geol. et min. du department de la .Meuse, Paris, 1852.

(:$) Origine de respO»ce humaine dans les environs de Toul. Pont-a Mousson, 1804.

(4) Ann. Club \lpin franyais, xiii, 1870, 442-457.

228

THE SEINE, THE MEUSE, AND THE MOSELLE

229

fashion often assumed by the valleys of large rivers, but never
imitated by valley’s of small streams. It is true that the valleys
of small streams may in the course of time become compara-
tively wide, but the}^
can never develop
S3’stematically curv-
ing meanders of
large radius with
steep sloping bluffs
on the ‘outside of
the curves and long
sloi»ing spurs on the
inside of the curves.

The form of the val-
ley from Toul to
Pagny, therefore, at
once suggests not
onlv that a stream
once passed through
it, but also that the stream was a large one.

In the second ]>lace, on looking more closely at the topo-
gra])hic details in the neighborhood of Toul, it is seen that we

have here a well
developed elbow
of c a p t u r e — a
shar{) l)cnd in the
river course, inde-
pendent of local
rock structure,
'file Toul makes
a sharp turn from
the direction of
its upper course
and swings off
along the course
f)f the Pompcv to
the .Moselle, 'flie
Pompev was once
inerelv one of
m a n v s in a 1 1
branches of the Moselle, of which the neighboring .Ache mav be
taken as the tvpe; but in consetiuence of adding the large vol-

230

THE SEINE, THE MEUSE, AND THE MOSELLE

lime of tlie Toul to the formerly small volume of the Pompe}%
tlie valley has been distinctly deepened both down and iii)-
stream from the elbow of capture below the former level of the
streams and now exhibits the steep-sided trench characteristic
of recent captures. Not only the diverted Toul but several of
its l)ranches above the elbow of capture have intrenched them-
selves beneath the "eneral level of the open valley-plain of lower
oblite strata on which they formerly flowed. On restoring the
surface of this old valle}' floor by filling up the trenches which
now dissect it, it may he seen to slope at such a grade as would
lead it to the floor of the meandering valley on the wa}" to the
Meuse. Immediately after the division of the Toul we may
imagine that only a small stream — the Pagny — fed by the drain-
age from the valley slopes, was left to follow the meandering
valley to Meuse. This would be the diminished, beheaded
stream of our terminology. But in conseciuence of the develop-
ment of the dee() trench at the elbow of capture and the accom-
})anving growth of the obsequent stream — the Ingressin — the
l)eheaded Pagny has been still further shortened and is now not
more than two and one-half miles in length.*

The Pacpiy and the Ingressin. — I^et me here turn a moment from
the main subject to consider some special features of the me-
andering valley and its })resent occui>ants, the Pagny and the
Ingressin. In the first place, midway in the valley, at the village
of Foug, there is a little stream coming in from the Bois Romont
on the north. The topograjdiic details of the district give good
reason for thinking that this little stream used to join the valley
at Lay-St.-Remy on the next meander to the west, and thus we
have here a repetition of an accident of the Ste. Austreberte
type. Mdien the vigorous Toul was running through this valley
and widening its meander belt it must have pushed its swinging
current so vigorously against the outer side of its curves that it
cut through the ridge separating the Foug meander from the
little stream on the north, and thus changed the mouth of its
own tributary from a lower to an upi)er meander. .This mai" be
added to the evidence indicating the former passage of a large
river through the meandering valle^^

Next as to the obsequent Ingressin, whose head is at least si.x

*Tlie following altitudes are significant :

Junction of the Meurtlie and the Moselle at Pompey, about 190 m.

Elbow of capture at Toul, 204 m.

Old valley floor at elbow of capture, about 255 m.

Divide between Ingressin and Pagny, 265 m.

Junction of the Pagny and the Meuse, 245 m.

THE SEINE, THE HEUSE, AND THE MOSELLE

231

miles from the elbow. The comparative narrowness of the trench
both above and below the elbow of capture b}'- Toul would not
lead us to expect an obsequent stream of much length, and I
therefore suggest the following explanation of the rather surpris-
ing length of the Ingressin. A little southwest of Foug is the
narrowest part of the old valley, its narrowness here being due
to the greater resistance of the middle Oolite, which form the
highland through which it is cut. From these steep slopes it
appears that a significant amount of waste has crept down into
the valley trough, obstructing it more or less and producing a
swamp of small dimensions. The beheaded Pagny seems to
have been unable to hold its course through this obstruction.
It probably accumulated for a time in a shallow lake above the
obstruction, until on overflowing into the gorge at the elbow this
j)art of its course reversed its direction of flow, and thus gave
rise to an obsequent stream of a somewhat aberrant type which
is now called the Ingressin.

All this, however, only by way of suggestion. Further study
of the geographical aspects of the country is necessary before
this sugge.stion deserves acceptance. There need, however, be
no doubt on the general problem concerning the diversion of the
Toul from the Meuse to the Moselle, and to my mind the case
would be perfectly satisfactory if no pebbles from the Vosges
had ever been found in the valley of the Meuse below Pagny.
The dimensions of the meandering valle\% the systematic form
of its bluffs and curves, the gorge above and below the elbow of
capture at Toul, the relation of the old valley plain in which
the gorge was cut to the floor of the meandering valley that
leads through the upland, and the accident that hapj)ened to the
little side stream at Foug, all combine into so S3^stematic an
arrangement of parts as to leave no doubt that an explanation
which can account for them by a single and simifle process is
their true explanation.

The (liniinished Meuse. — Looking now again at the Meuse l)y
CommercN' we must recognize it as a river whose volume has been
diminished by the diversion of an important tributary to another
river .sj'stem. Its volume having diminished, it is unable now
to accommodate itself to the large curves of its vallcv and must
instead advance in an uncertain course as it staggers along on the
valley floor. Not 011I3' so; hiiving lost volume, it seems unable
to maintain so gentle a slope as it had assumed when its volume
was larger, for its tlood-|)lain now has every appearance of hav-

232

THE SEINE, THE MEUSE, AND THE MOSELLE

ing filled up the former valley-trough to a moderate depth. It
therefore gives us au illustration of a river which has changed
its action from degrading its slope when its volume was large to
aggrading its slope now that its volume is small.

\\diat the Meuse has lost the Moselle has gained, and the con-
siderable addition that the Toul has given to its volume has
undoubtedly confirmed its habit of swinging boldlv around the
meanders of its lower valle}", even to the point of cutting almost
or quite through the necks of its meander spurs.

The Aire and the Bar. — Let us next look at tlie case of the Aire.
Tins stream was once an affluent of the Meuse on the we.stern
side, of its basin. but it has been diverted to swell the volume of

tlie Seine. The elbow of cap-
ture in this case lies about two
miles east of Grand Pre. The
Aire coming from the southeast
here makes a sharp turn west-
ward through the ridge of lower
Cretaceous strata that bears the
forest of Argonne and thus joins
the Aisne. In direct continua-
tion of the course of the Aire an
oi)en valley leads to the Meuse a
little below Sedan. The greater
length of this valle}' is followed
by a small stream — the Bar;
but while the valley exhibits
strong meanders of rather large
radius, the Bar is nothing l.)ut a
little brook that wriggles here
and there, back and forth, on
the valley floor. The slopes of
the valley floor have the usual systematic arrangement — steeper
slopes on the outside of the curves, gentler slopes on the inside.
A s})ur that enters one of the meanders from the upland on the
west, covered l)y the Bois la Queue near St Aignan, has so narrow
a neck that the canal leading from the Meuse to the Seine sys-'
tern has cut a trench through the neck instead of going around
the spur. (See Plate V.)

Tlie indications of the former greater volume of water in the
stream tliat once swung boldly around tbe meanders of this
valley are perfectly conclusive. But now the little Bar staggers

THE SEINE, THE MEUSE, AND THE MOSELLE

233

about in the most random manner, quite unable to continue the
widening of the meanders and the narrowing of the necks of the
spurs by running S3^stematically against the outer side of tlie
valley curves. The meadow-like (piality of the flat valle}' floor
suggests that the Bar has aggraded its course since the greater
volume of Avater was AvithdraAvn at the Grand Pre ell)OW, thus re-
peating the features of the Meuse about Commercy. FolloAving
up the Bar, the breadth of the valley and the radius of its large
meanders are slowly diminished for a long distance ; but the little
Bar winding through the meadow floor, rapidly diminishes, and
near Buzanc}’’ the meadow is left without more drainage than is
given by such ditches as the farmers have cut here and there for
the better drying of their flat, marshy fields. Passing further to
the southeast along the meandering valley, we soon find a small
stream, successively called the Moulin, Briquenay, and Agron,
flowing soutliAvard for seven miles in a trench cut along the val-
ley-trough to the elbow of capture above Grand Pre. This is
the back-handed stream by Avhose growth from the elbow of cap-
ture the beheaded Bar has been progressively more and more
shortened.

Whether the divide at present existing beGveen the obsequent
Briquenay-Agron and the beheaded Bar has been determined in
this case by the accumulation of detritus washed in from the
valley slopes, as it apparentl}'’ was in the case of the Pagny, I
cannot surely say; but there does not appear to be much dis-
]>arity between the time required for the amount of widening
that the gorge of the Aire has received at the elbow of capture and
for the headward growth of the back-handed Bri(iuenay-Agron.
As in the case of the Toul (upper Moselle), so with the Aire ; its
old valley floor, occupied at a time Avhen it still ran down the
valley now occupied by the Bar, is easily recognized in the flat,
terrace-like benches in either direction from the elbow of caj)-
ture; but these benches now overlook the widened trench of the
diverted Aire and the narrower trench of the reversed Bri<pie-
nay-Agron. A considerable dei)th is maintained l>y the trench
of tlie Aire for some distance U[) the stream from the elbow of
capture, and, of course, also through the former valley' Ibjor of
the diverter on the way to ,\isne; but on going iq> the reversed
stream its trench rapidl}' decreases in dei)th, and near Buzancy
it makes but a slight deju’ession in the meadows.

One of the most interesting p(flnts of view for the appreciation
of this exani[)le of river arrangement is on the flat fields of the

234

THE SEINE, THE MEUSE, AND THE MOSELLE

old valley floor near the elbow of capture, just south of the vil-
lage of Chanipigueules. Here all the different parts are easily
recognized, as if on a model made expressly for the explanation
of the problem. In some pits dug here and there by the road-
side on the plain one may see the old river gravels laid down by
the Aire while it was running at this high level on its way north-
ward to the INIeuse. Another point of view no less instructive is
offered after surmounting the hill by which the national road
soutliward from Sedan, on the Meuse, crosses over to the valley of
the Bar at Chevenges. Fi*om the summit and along the south-
ward descent one has a beautiful view of the broad valley as it
swings around the narrow-necked sjiur of the Bois la Queue, but
he looks in vain for the stream by which the valley was cut. He
fails to see any stream at all until descending to the valle}^ floor,
when the only occupant of the great, boldly swinging valle}^ is
found to be a little meadow brook.

Here, as before, it should be remembered that it is not the
width of the valley that is essentially discordant with the size
of the brook that now drains it; for in the late maturity of the
geogra))hical development of a land surface even small streams
have broad valleys. Tlie discordance which proclaims that the
valley is not the work of the existing stream is seen in the rela-
tive dimensions of their meanders. The valley swings regularly
in curves of at least half a mile in radius, and maintains this habit
of curvature with small diminution far up toward the elbow of
capture and probably still further south. The stream turns and
twists in curves whose radius may often be less than a hundred
feet. *

In comparing the case of the Toul (upper Moselle) and Aire,
we see that these rivers are the diverted upper portions of

♦ The following altituiles are instructive:

Junction of Bar and Meuse 153 m.

Divide in old valley-trough between the beheaded Bar and the reversed Bri-

quenay-Agron on the meadows west of Buzancy 175 m.

Junction of the reversed Briquenay-Agron with the Aire at the elbow of

capture 130 m.

Floor of old Aire valley at elbow of capture 182 m.

Junction of Aire and Aisne 113 m.

The advantage of depth thus gained by the Aire is about 50 m.

It is worth noticing that if the Aire had not been diverted at Grand Pr6 it would
have soon been captured farther down its former valley at Brieulles-sur-Bar for here
the Fournelle, a branch of the Aisne, has almost cut through the forested ridge of

Argonne, as the following heights show :

Mouth of Fournelle in Aisne by Vouziers 100 m.

Divide between head of Fournelle and Bar near Noirval 174 m.

Bar at Brieulles 168 m.

THE SEINE, THE HEUSE, AND THE MOSELLE

235

branches that once belonged to the INIense. The diverters (by
which the Toul was given over to the Moselle and the Aire to
the Aisne) may be called the Pompey and the Grand Pre re-
spectively, the latter ultimately delivering its prize through the
Marne to the Seine. The beheaded streams of the two are the
Pagny and the Bar. The former is so insignificant that I have
had to invent a name for it, finding no name for the stream but
only the “ IVlarais de Pagny ” entered on the Etat-major map of
1 80,000. The Bar is the best example that I have ever seen
of a beheaded stream trying ineffectually to live up to the robust
habits of its great predecessor.

The diminished Meuse again. — The loss suffered by the Meuse
and the increase gained by the Seine through the diversion of
the Aire are of no great moment, but as far as they go they serve
to confirm each river in the habits that now characterize it — the
IMeuse in staggering with uncertain steps around its valley curves,
the Seine and the Moselle in swinging boldly around their curves
and undermining the inclosing bluffs. It should be noted, how-
ever, that when a large tributar}^ is diverted from a point high
u[) on the trunk of a main river, the loss of volume that the
change produces may be a large fraction of the total volume that
once belonged to the main river, and hence that the loss may
greatl}' affect the ability of the main river still to follow the
swinging valley tliat it cut out when its volume was greater.
On the other hand, when a tributary of relatively small volume
is diverted from some point near the middle of the main river,
the loss thus occasioned will be a comparatively small fraction
of tlie trunk volume, and tlie change of habit thus produced
will be corresi)ondingly small. It is for this reason that the
staggering of the Meuse near Commercy is so much more marked
than between Sedan and Mezieres. The loss of the Toul (upper
Moselle) was a much more serious affair for the Meuse than the
loss of the Aire.

Sapideinentarij problems. — There are certain aspects of this ])rol)-
lem tliat remain to be considered briefly. First, are there any
other examples of branches diverted from the system of the
Meuse to those of its neighliors on the west and east? Although
I have been unable to find any direct signs of them on the maj),
there still does seem to be indication that other diversions have
occurred. On looking at the Meuse above Pagny, it is there
almost as much out of proportion to its valley as it is below
Pagu}’. It is po.ssilde, therefore, that other headwater branches

230

THE SEINE, THE MEUSE, AND THE MOSELLE

higher up than the upper Moselle have been diverted. Looking
at the Aire, it appears that the present radius of the meanders
is much smaller than the radius of the swinging valley that is
followed by the little Bar, and from this it may be inferretl that
not only the existing Aire but the drainage of a still larger basin
once ran down the valley of the Bar. Perhaps the upper Ornain
represents something of the additional volume that the Aire
once po.ssessed, but I cannot find direct indication tliat such is
the fact. The maps on the scale of 1 : 80.000 seem hardly of
suHicient detail to enable one to solve this j)hase of the problem
by indoor study alone. The whole subject calls for extended
study in the field, and a more interesting problem could hardly
l)e selected for a summer’s work.

Another subject to which no reference has yet been made is,
nevertheless, of fundamental importance to the whole ])roblem :
Why is it that the Seine and the Moselle are waxing at the ex-
j)ense of the waning Meuse ? Why do they possess an advantage
while tlie intermediate stream is at a disadvantage ? How could
the Meuse ever have gainetl so large a drainage area as it once
must have had, if at a later stage of its history it was to be so
closely sliorn of its branches ? This is too large a problem to
enter far ui)on now, but it contains two elements that may be
Indefiy stated. One is that many ot the streams in the region
of the Meuse are longitudinal streams — that is, they run chiefly
along the strike of the weaker strata and their valleys have long
ascending slopes on the eastern side and more abrui)t sloi)es on
tlie western side. The highlands reached by these slopes are
determined by the outcrop of more resistant strata than those of
the valleys wliich the streams have excavated. Longitudinal
streams of this kind I have called ‘'subsequent,^' l)elieving that
they cannot have originated in immediate conseciuence of the
original slopes of the land surface when it first arose above the
sea, but that their opportunity came later when the wasting of
the weak strata allowed the headward growth of streams along
tlieir strike, after the manner ex})lained in connection with the
adjustments of the Marne and its branches near Chalons. The
Meuse and at least some of the branches that it once had there-
fore seem themselves to have been the result of dejjredations
committed on the territory of some still earlier river or rivers,
and if this is true, the sympathy that the present impoverished
condition of the Meuse excites is not deserved.

However this may be, why is it that the Meuse has lately

NAT. GEOG. MAG.

VOL. VII, 1896, PL. XXVI

'’rr^lS,,

jMalmv^i:^

r/ /jt% M

iVTaj^nccl

the lower valley of the bar

i>hi-n ,1/,.^ f., I'tati., , / $o.o,M

THE SEINE, THE MEUSE, AND THE MOSELLE

237

found so great difficulty in deepening its valley and thus saving
its branches from capture b}'' its neighbors? The chief cause of
this difficulty must be looked for in the u})lift of the Ardennes,
across whose resistant rocks the lower Meuse has, during Tertiaiy
time (perhaps only during later Tertiary time), been cutting its
grand gorge. Like the highlands #of the middle Rhine, the
Ardennes consist of ancient and deformed rocks which have
once been reduced to a peneplain of moderate relief drained
idle streams,* but across which the Meuse is now actively cutting
a deej) transverse valley in consequence of the strong uplift of
the region. While the peneplain was yet a lowland the Meuse
was comparatively safe from depredations, but during the eleva-
tion of the peneplain and thereafter, great difficulty must have
been experienced in deepening the valley. The Moselle must
also have had some difficulty in deepening its valley through
the uplifted highlands of the middle Rhine, but the uplift there
does not seem to have been so great as it was in the Ardennes,
and thus the Seine and the Moselle seem to have gained an ad-
vantage over the unlucky river between their headwaters. It is,
indeed, remarkable enough that the Meuse is still able to main-
tain its course across the uplifted Ardennes, and its success can
only be explained by regarding it as an excellent example of an
antecedent river. It has battled manfully to preserve its course,
and in this it has been wonderfully successful, for the highlands

*Thi.s view of tiie history of the Ardennes is strongly presented in an essay by Pro-
fessor de Lapparent, entitled “ L’age des formes topdgraphiques ” (Rev. des questions
scientifiqnes, October, 1894) ; but there is one conclusion that he announces from which,
if I understand him correctly, I must differ. Professor de Lapparent states that, at the
beginning of Tertiary time, when the Ardennes were denuded close to the level of the
sea, “the streams there circulated capriciously and almost with out slope on the sur-
face of a region devoid of relief.” The “ capricious ” .irrangement of the streams seems
to me very unlikely. Inasmuch as the present drainage of tlie Ardennes is for the
most part accomplisheil by a rectangular system of streams, which follow longitudinal
courses along the weaker strata and transverse courses across the stronger strata, it
seems advisable to picture the peneplain to which the Ardennes were reduced as still
possessing faint residuals of the many ridges that once rose above the peneplain, and
to conceive the streams as e.xhibiting a well-adjusted relation to the structures, such
as they would have slowly and laboriously acquired during the making of a peneplain
from a once mountainous region of disorderly structure. The present rectangular
streams wouhl then be, not the readjusted successors of :i capricious system of di-ainage
on the peneplain, but the persistent successors of the laboriously adjusted streatns of
pre-Teriiary beginning. If some of the streams of the Ardennes now exhibitcapri<'inus
courses, unrelated to the structure in which their valleys are incised, they may be the
successors of late Tertiary streams that had lost the adjustment of maturity in the
meandering of old age, or they may be inherited fi-om courses that were assumed on a
cover of unconformably superposed strata of late (Iretaceous or early Tertiary date,
now all strippeil off; but, as far as I have seen the region and studied the maps, capi i-
ciouH streams of this kind ilo not prevail. The characteristic rectangular streams aro
well shown on slieets 48 and .‘it of tlie Helgian topogranliical maps; scale, 1 : 4u,nno.

Ifi

288

A JOUEXEY IX ECUADOR

of the Ardennes through which its deep gorge is cut are now
higher than the uplands in which its meandering valley is sunk
for some distance above Mezieres. Yet although successful in
holding its wa}’’ through the revived mountains of the Ardennes,
it has had to pay dearly for this success by the loss of its side
branches. The hard rocks, of the uplifted Ardennes form a sill
that holds the upper Meuse at a relatively high level and allows
the head branches of the Seine and Moselle to undercut it on
either side. Thus it is left as a waning river, still persevering
l>ravely in its course, but much embarrassed by the diversion to
its encroaching neighbors of certain tributaries from whom it
had expected loyal assistance in its great task of cutting a way
through all obstacles to the sea.

A JOURNEY IN ECUADOR

By Mark B. Kerr, C. E.

I left Panama on June 26, 1894, and two days later made
my first stop at Buenaventura. Here a Californian, Mr J. L.
Cherry, is building a railroad to the interior of Colombia, to pene-
trate Cauca valle}^ probabl}’’ the richest district in quartz and
placer gold mines in South America. The railroad here has been
completed to Cordoba, some thirty or forty miles inland from
this town. Transportation across the mountains is effected by
})acking.

On June 30 I arrived at Tumaco, on the borders of Colombia
and Ecuador, at the mouth of Rio Mira. From this point in-
land via Patia river and Barbacoas another mule trail leads to
the interior of Colombia, this and the one already noted being
the only ways of reaching the interior from the Pacific. At
Tumaco the fruit is delicious, mangoes, pineapples, oranges, and
a})i'icots being finer than at any other place I visited.

The next river southward (in Ecuador) is Rio Santiago. Be-
tween this river and the Mira there is at high water a deep and
narrow interior channel or sound, which is generally traversed by
canoe in preference to the rougher outside journey by sea. In
this portion of Ecuador transportation is entirely by canoe, as the
Andes rise abruptly from the Pacific, culminating in the im-
mense peaks of Chimborazo (20,498 feet) and Cotopaxi (19,480
feet). The onl}" regular route to the interior in Ecuador is the

DRAINAGE MAP OF NORTHWESTERN ECUADOR
I-fom the Stitvey of Mark li. Kerr, Civil /engineer, and A’. M. etrango. Assistant /engineer

Coast line ami adjacent country from the Ivcuador Government Survey, hy courtesy of C. Van Kscliott, Ksq.,

of Guayaquil, Kcuaclor

Klevation above sea level shown in figures

Kerr's route

240

A JOURNEY IN ECUADOR

rough road from Guayaquil to Quito, crossing the Andes at an
elevation of 14,0rX) feet just south of Chimborazo.

On the journey from Tumaco I was accompanied by an English-
man named Nelson. The first day out we stoi)ped for the night
in this interior channel. The vegetation was dense and thick, and
])arasitic vines stretched completely across the waterway. Many
different kinds of parrots combined with innumerable insects
and lizards and a few monkeys to make night hideous ; and
when a sharj), curious noise like a dog-bark caused my friend
to thrust his head from under his leafy canopy in the canoe to
inquire, “ What is that noi.se?” I answered “An equi snake.”
Nelson dropj>ed back under his ranch, and when he ventured
out in the morning remarked, “ What an infernal country, when
even the snakes bark ! ”

We followed the inland passage to the mouth of Rio Santiago
and ascended this river 12 miles to Borhon. The pa.ssage was
so narrow and the vegetation so thick as to give the impression
of floating through a forest. At Borhon we found a warehouse
which thereafter served as our base of supplies. The Spaniards
knew of gold jdacers on the Santiago over two hundred 3’^ears
ago and brought in negro slaves to work them. The descendants
of these .slaves now peoi)le one branch of the river, numbering
over 1 ,500. The\^ crowded out the natives (the Cayapas Indians,
about 1,000 in number), who retired to another fork of the same
river. At Borhon the Santiago forks, the left (northern) and
decidedl}' smaller branch retaining the name, while the right
fork is called Cayapas, after the native tribe. The old semi-
civilization of South America and Central America seems to
have been confined to the elevated j)lateaus, particularly in Peru
and Ecuador, and there onlv do we find ruins of the remarkable
Imildings constructed by the Incas, such as those of Quito, Cuzco,
and Lake Titicaca. When Pizarro conquered this region in the
earlier half of the sixteenth century many of these people fled
before the conquistador and established new homes along the
banks of these torrential rivers, which plunge into the Pacific
after a limited course, usuall}" 75 to KK) miles. These rivers
would seem magnificent if the}' were not surpa.ssed by the gran-
deur of their neighbors, the Orinoco and the Amazon. Santiago
river and its branches rise in the snowy crest of the Andes, and
the Cayapas Indians are })robably descendants of the Chimec or
Chibcha, who, conquered neither by Inca nor Spaniard, retired
to remote districts and held themselves aloof from strangers.

VOL. VII, 1896, PL. XXVII

- ^
QC

uJ ^

A JOURNEY IN ECUADOR

241

Along most of the rivers descending from the Andes to the
Pacific in Ecuador gold was found in small quantities by the
Spaniards. In this eager search for the yellow metal the In-
dians were forced to give way, and now in tiieir homes along the
banks of the Cayapas the}'’ meet all strangers in an inhospitable
and surly manner. The negroes have borrowed many customs
and useful arts in weaving, house-building, etc., from the Cayapas
Indians, and, having retained many old habits of their former
African abode, combined with some of the worst traits of the in-
ferior whites, may be summed up as being phlegmatic, ignorant,
superstitious, without strong family ties or sense of gratitude.
Their superstitions take the form of incantations to prevent acci-
dents, and especial trouble is taken to prevent the devil from
taking possession of infants. Some respect is felt for the priest
who occasionally visits here, but with these negroes religion is
only another word for superstition.

But to return to my journey On July 17 we left Borbon and
proceeded by steam launch 28 miles up Rio Cayapas. Grasses,
ferns, and bushes (mostly of the class Umbellifer£e) lined the
banks and mingled with the cocoanut trees, the breadfruit, the
splendid royal palm, and the mango with its spreading and
symmetrical foliage. These magnificent trees with their large
leaves strained imagination to the utmost and utterly deceived
the eye in grasping proportions. While lost in silent admira-
tion of such a wealth of vegetation, we turned a sharp bend
of the river and over the tliatched huts of the natives could
be seen the overhanging feathery tufts of the bamboo, w'hich
softened as well as lightened up the intensely dark hue of vege-
tation in the background. This was the headquarters of Na})0,
the gobernador of the Cayapas. A judicious presentation of
heads and buttons insured us a pleasant reception from the chief,
and he detailed a guide for us on the upper river.

The house of the gobernador was on stilts (as is the case with
most of these houses) and was built like a long rectangle, 100 by
GO feet. Two large fireplaces (wooden Ijoxes elevated about
three or four feet above the lloor and filled witli sand) and some
large fiat stones sufiiced for cooking pur|>o.ses, wliile four small
e.xtensions, two on each side of the house, like hay windows,
served as sleeping apartments for the difi'erent meml)ers of the
family. The men are well formed, of good stature, beardless,
with glossy black hair, and splendid chest development, while
the women, l)eing forced to do all the work, are generally small,

242

A JOURXEY IX ECUADOR

coarsely fat, and disfigured b}'’ black streaks across their faces
arms, and breasts. They wear an embroidered cloth of their
own manufacture tied around the waist and reaching to the knee,
and the men wear a garment like swimming trunks, made of the
same material.

Boiled plantain lieaten into cakes between two flat stones con-
stituted supper and breakfast. After supi)er the women engaged
in weaving cloth from shreds of i)lantain fiber, and through this
embroidered long pieces of cotton dyed by rolling cotton in
natural l)lues and reds through the cloth like wax-ends. This
cloth, all hand-made, was when completed extremely hand-
some, reminding one of the figures and coloring of German em-
broidery. The men amused themselves lolling in hammocks or
])laying on the marimba, an instrument made of upright pieces
of bamboo with pieces of hard wood laid across them, in tone like
a xyloplione. Sometimes they played minor chords on another
instrument like a harp. A fire of a sort of resinous wood served
to light up the scene until night fell black and damp, and we
were lulled to sleep by the crackling flight of large beetles and
the occasional hoarse bark of a tree-frog or lizard.

p]arly the next morning we visited the trapiclie or sugar-cane
press of the chief. Here two huge wooden rollers set close to-
gether pressed the cane stalks and large metal ve.ssels received
the juice. Distilling pots were placed convenient!}’' near. All
the apparatus had apparently been in use for many years.

These natives make light and swift canoes and leaf-shape pad-
dles, and are also skillful in weaving hats, fans, and hammocks
from the many-colored rushes and grasses. From the “ pita ’’
they make fish nets and lines, and by whipping a small stream,
diving, and keeping the net close to the bottom they inclose the
fish in a small space, when men, women, and children have great
sjjort in spearing them. Besides this, the men are skillful fisher-
men, and when the river is high an Indian can often be seen, with
one hand holding his pole and the other propelling and guiding
his canoe in a manner worthy of the most scientific sportsman.
They also make a sort of vegetable cloth by beating otf the out-
side covering of strips of Tanajaqua bark, which afterwards by
repeated washings becomes pliable.

By some means of rapid signaling our ])rogress up the river
was anticipated, but thanks to the kind office of our friend, the
gobernador, although not altogether hospitably received, we were
still permitted to pass along without question. Along the whole

A JOURNEY IN ECUADOR

243

course of this river we found different clans living in communal
style in these large houses, similar to the house of the chief, skill-
ful in weaving cloth and carving figures out of wood, without
doubt arts from a higher civilization. The custom of removing
the bones from the head of the dead and then drying and em-
balming the latter seems confined to the Serranos on the upper
plateaus, but I saw one of these heads, about the size of an ordi-
nary ball, with perfect hair and features. This tribe is entirely
pure, and although most of them understand the Spanish of the
country, they use their own language among themselves.

Reaching the head of steam navigation, we again took to bur
canoes. The river, swollen by recent rains, rushed down at a
furious rate, and the native boatmen, clinging to roots and over-
hanging bushes, used vigorously both paddle and pole, shouting
and babbling to each other louder even than the roar of the water.
We encountered mostly sedimentary rocks until we reached the
Sapayo. The bed-rock then was soft and contained fossil shells,
some of them belonging to the Chico group. A short distance
up this river the formation changes. Immediately above an
altered sandstone and slate and then granite and quartz occur.
In the Sapollite the quartz is gold-bearing, but above it is barren.
Further above occur the diabase rocks and lavas to the crest of
the mountains. Outside of the Sapollite and Sapayo Grande the
rocks are base, gabbro-like, and carry no gold. The float of the
Sapayo Grande shows crystals of quartz and Brazilian topaz, but
none of the stones we saw were valuable.

Having reached the head of canoe navigation on Cayapas river
and made an examination of the placers there, we built a hut after
the native fashion and made our second base camp. My plan
was to cross the cordillera and examine the rocks and topography
of the country between tlie rivers Cayapas and Santiago.

We found here an old trail running into the interior across the
Andes to the town of Cotocachi. No white man had ever gone
so high u[) the river or attempted the interesting journey across
the Andes. On account of the heavy rainfall (a)jout 30 inches a
montli) it is very dillicult to j)reserve negatives, and even cloth-
ing S(jon becomes mildewed. A great many of my exposures
were ruined ami most of the negatives were spotted by the damp-
ness. Thus my photographs are few and im])erfect.

Leaving all our miscellaneous equipage at this camp, we
decided to cut our way along the old trail. Never bolbn' in all
my experience had I encountered such a wealth of vegetable

244

A JOURXEY IX ECUADOR

and insect life as here in the depth of the equatorial forest.
Many-colored moths, butterflies, and humming-birds fluttered
from plant to plant, and even snakes, toads, and lizards were
clothed in ])revailing bright hues. The snakes were generally
about the size of the rattlesnake, with flat heads and large fangs,
and many of them were venomous. The boa here does not reach
so great a size as on the Amazon drainage, the largest we saw
being eight feet long and three inches thick. On some of the
smaller streams one species of reptile, light green in color, had
an uncanny way of dropping unexpectedly from trees, once in
awhile actually dropping into our canoe as we passed. Two
large copper tanks were filled with different species of reptiles.
One earthworm was found two feet long, a cockroach three
inches, and a grasshopper three and one-half inches in length.
Large fireflies, with two phosphorescent eyes, were plentiful;
they made a crackling noise in flight. During the night we
stuffed cotton in our ears, not alone to drown the droning and
buzzing of the insects, but also to prevent the pests from crawl-
ing in while we slept.

Four or five natives in charge of an assistant were sent ahead
with provisions, to put up ranches (a ranch here is a temporary
camp) of cane and palm leaves, and with three others I brought
up the rear. The vegetation changed somewhat and became
semi-tropical in character, the red cedar predominating, and
although there was not the same dense jungle .as below, still the
underl)rush was luxuriant, and our machete men were kept busy
in cutting out the large tangled roots and dense vegetation which
obstructed our path up the ridges. As we ascended the stream
we noticed many butterflies on the playas. Toward evening the
numl^er increased until for an hour they passed over our heads
in perfect swarms like locusts.

We passed two falls by swimming and climbing along the edge
of the rocky bank until it was too steep to even afford foothold.
We then made a raft of light balsa wood and passed along the
cliffs to the third fall. Wearied by our work, we j>itched our
tent .along the edge of the canon about thirty-five feet aVjove the
water. For the sake of convenience our Jamaican cook had
l)itched his camp under a shelving rock about twent}' feet above
the water. Shortly after dark we heard the distant thunder in
the mountains, and in two hours, before we bad even time to
realize wbat had happened, the water came doAvn in one solid
sheet of white foam and washed our kitchen away, leaving us.

A JOURNEY IN ECUADOR

245

however, the cook. The water rose thirty feet, and then gradu-
ally subsided, having just missed canying away our entire camp.

After we left the river one high ridge was reached onl}" to
plunge again into a ravine on the other side, for the trail carried
us across the many forks of the Sapa}^ Grande. We made only
four or five miles a day. One day, having a particularly rough
and difficult journe}' to make, we failed to reach our camp and
remained all night upon the cordillera. The darkness fell
rapidly. Suddenly a peal of thunder was heard, followed by a
sound like a rushing, furious wind through the tree-tops, the
signal of approaching rain. It came in torrents, wetting us
through and through, and putting out our fire. The earth, like
a sponge filled to repletion, received and gave off’ its additional
moisture, making the air intensely humid. We sat up the rest
of the night, clinging to the roots of the trees, hearing the whirr
of innumerable birds, the buzz of countless insects, and the howl-
ing of wild cats, while large firebugs and a phosphorescent gleam
from decayed vegetation spread a weird glow that only served to
intensify the darkness.

On the fourth day we reached the main divide or cordillera
overlooking Rio Santiago, 8,000 feet above the sea, and leading
direct to the summit of Cotocachi. This peak is included in
the scheme of triangulation and observation of Juan and Ulloa,
Humboldt and Pissis. At this point the Andes begin to show
their power; numerous streams fall in beautiful cascades over
the cliff's and disappear in the vegetation below, while not far
away looms up a snowy summit, 17,000 feet above sea level.

After extending our reconnaissance to the river we returned
over our trail and down the Cayapas to the headquarters at Bor-
bon. For some reason we were avoided by the natives, and even
treated with o)>en signs of enmit3^ Plowever, we had accom-
plished all we wished in limiting the areas containing gold gravel
and in making a rough but interesting trip in a very short time.

THE ABERRATION OF SOUND AS ILLUSTRATED BY
THE BERKELEY POWDER EXPLOSION

By Robert LI. Chapman,

United States Geological Surrey

Dr Cl):irle.s A. Wliite* and Mr Arnold B. Johnson t have
treated of the sounds given by fog-sirens. They have discovered
areas close to the siren in which the sound is inaudible. In some
cases this fact is accounted for by the intervention of an object,
such as an island or mountain, but not infrequently there is no
visil)le obstruction to the sound waves coming from the siren.
It is my wish to ju’esent some facts that have come within my
own observation and that show a direct relationship between
sound waves and waves of motion generated b}' sharj) explosions.

On Saturday, July 1), 1892, about 9.30 a. m., an explosion oc-
curred at the giant-powder works at LVest Berkeley, California.
The first explosion was in the “ mixing-room,” and about 1,000
pounds of nitro-glycerine were discharged. About five minutes
later the three magazines blew up, the final ex])losion being the
heaviest. The total amount of powder and nitro-glycerine ex-
ploded was about 250 tons. The shock of the last explosion was
very severe, the column of smoke and flame rising to a height
of at least 1,200 feet, and resembling a volcanic eruption. The
damage in San Francisco, eight miles across the bay, was very
great, ])late-glass windows being broken, doors forced, and sky-
lights shattered. Tne shock seemed to be a little heavier in the
low-lying portion of the city, although farther from the scene of
the explosion, than in the hilly (piarter. It was distinctly felt by
the engineer and passengers of a rapidly moving express train
12 miles north of the works. A train only five miles distant was
l)artially protected by hills, and no shock was noticed. At Napa,
28 miles due north, the shock was distinctly noticeable.

About one and one-half miles a little south of east of the works
and at about 100 feet higher elevation is situated a large frame

* Science, yo\. xxiii, pp. 59-62, The Relation of the Sounds of Fog Signals to other
.Sounds.

t Science, vol. xxiii, pp. 3-6, The Cruise of the Clover.

See also The Modern Light-house Service, pp. “4-91, .4. B. Johnson, and Report upon
Fog-signal Experiments (Report of the Light-house Board, 1891, Appendix No. V),
pp. 289-304, W. R. Livermore.

24G

THE ABERRATION OF SOUND

247

building, built for hotel purposes, and having a great number of
rooms and windows. It was used at that time as a young ladies’
seminary, but the explosion occurred during vacation, and the
president of the institution and his family were the only persons
occupying it. Accordingly most of the rooms were vacant and
the doors and windows closed. The dimensions of the building
are about 200 feet in an east- west direction by 50 feet north and
south, and it is several stories high. On the first floor are large
dining-rooms, reception-rooms, etc, with a hallway in the middle

rooms on each side of the hall, and transoms over the doors,
with elevator and stairways in the middle of the building, as
shown in the accompanying ground jdan and proHle, whicli,
however, are given as correct only as to their general features.
For convenience, the windows shown in the skeUih arc numbered
vertically from the bottom and lettered con.secutively from tlu;
loft.

'file conservatory, on the north side of the building, was badly
broken, both glass and framewctrk, the latter being movi'd out-

248

THE ABERRATION OF SOUND

ward, or toward the focus of action. All the windows on the
western end of the building were broken, while those on the
eastern end were uninjured. The direction of the waves of mo-
tion was toward the northwest corner of the building. On exam-
ining the column marked 6, I found window 2 blown in and its
frame broken into small pieces. Window 3 was uninjured, while
4 was in a condition similar to 2, both glass and frame being
broken. This skipping of alternate windows in the same verti-
cal line was remarked in several instances, but the broken win-
dows were not always in the same horizontal line. I remarked
no .s\’’stematic alternations in injuries to windows of the same
stoiy. In some cases the transom above the door of a room, the
door and window being shut, was broken, glass and frame, the
door blown in toward the room and broken from the hinges and

MAIN ENTRANCE

lock, the window remaining uninjured. Many windows on the *
south side of the building, the side unexposed to the direct force
of the explosion, were broken and many doors on the south side
of the hallway were broken and unhinged. The large doors at
the entrance of the building on the south side were broken from
hinges, lock, and floor-bolt; one was blown in and the other
blown out. No damage was noted in the vicinity of the eleva-
tor shaft, where the air in the building was free to circulate. The
general rule appeared to be that the doors were forced toward
the room or hallway having the greater cubical contents. Look-
ing at the north side of the building, one was impressed with the
fact that it appeared to have been bombarded, the windows be-
ing broken in groups. This seems to bear out, to some extent
at least, the assertion of Professor P. G. Tait, that “in the case
of a disturbance in air due to a very sudden explosion, as of
d^mamite or as by the passage of a flash of lightning, it is proVj-

THE ABERRATION OF SOUND

249

able that for some distance from the source the motion is of a
projectile character.”*

The breaking of the transoms over doors, while the window
w'as uninjured, and the breaking of the windows unexposed to
the direct force of the explosion are very interesting phenomena,
and I wish to otTer an explanation which I think will account
for the facts observed. The path of the maximum of disturb-
ance results largely from the unequal resistance of the air, and
while at the actual center of explosion the pressure may be in
“ concentric shells,” at a very short distance it becomes stellar.
The changing pressure of the wind, as shown b^^ Professor Lang-
ley’s experiments, and the shape of the flame in an explosion
(stellar) lead one to this conclusion. As the maximum wave
moves from the focus, the air forming it is constantly changing,
and the following sketch illustrates the path of an air particle
as I believe it to be :

A, B, and Care air particles in the })ath of a maximum wave
traveling along the line 0 P. The motion of each is first along
the line of 0 P, away from the focus, a result of direct imj)act of
other particles, then back to its original i)osition, or near it. the
track forming a closed curve. When the ])article is in the posi-
tion A', B\ or C', its motion is toward the focus of the explosion,
and so any damage it might do would be evidenced I)}" a break-
ing of objects unexposed to the force of the direct wave. In the
case of the transoms mentioned above, the back thrust which
bnjke the glass and frame was cushioned by the air in the room,
and so the window was not injured.

* Eneyclop-cdia firitannicn, ninth eilition, vol. x.xiv, p. 418.

MINERAL PRODUCTION IN THE UNITED STATES

The mineral products of the United States in the calendar year 1895
had a total value, according to the statistics collected by the U. S. Geologi-
cal Survey, of $611,795,290. This amount, although nearly one-sixth
greater than that for the preceding year, was less than in 1890, 1891, or
1892. The quantities of the principal items were, however, greater than
ever before, while the values were in many cases less, owing to the reduc-
tion in prices.

The most noteworthy increase in the list is in the case of pig iron, the
quantity of which increased nearly 42 per cent, viz., from 6,657,388 long
tons to 9,446,308 long tons, and the value nearly 62 per cent, viz., from
$65,007,247 to $105,198,550. This production is the largest the country
has ever seen and is probably not far from double that of the British
islands. The decrease in silver production has continued, the amount
j)roduced being 47,000,000 ounces, or about 24 million ounces less than
the year before. The production of gold has greatly increased, being
$47,000,000 against $39,500,000 in 1894. The product of the Transvaal
was almost, equal to that of this countr}'. The production of copper has
increased slightly, being 381,106,868 pounds. The production of lead
also has increased, reaching 161,440 short tons. The output of coal con-
sisted of 135,118,193 short tons of bituminous and 51,785,122 long tons of
Pennsylvania anthracite. The output of coal, both bituminous and an-
tliracite, is the largest on record. The production of petroleum was
52,9S;l,526 barrels of 42 gallons each, the largest amount ever produced
in a single year with the exception of 1891. The production of natural
gas has slightly diminished.

The enormous increase in some of these items, especially those of pig
iron and coal, illustrates in emphatic terms the promptness with which
the supjily of such products responds to an increased demand. For two
years the railroads of the United States were economizing in the pur-
chase of rails, with the result that at the end of that time an unusually
large number of lines were needing new rails, and the different compa-
nies took advantage of the low price of steel to supply their necessities in
this regard. The result was a large and sudden demand for steel rails,
causing a great increase in price ; mines and furnaces were reopened, and
general activity prevailed in the trade, resulting, as before stated, in an
increase in the iron output of nearly 42 per cent over the previous year.
In the case of most of our mineral products the output is limited only by
the market. The supply and the facilities for extraction are more than
sufficient to meet any l^ossible demand.

250

GEOGRAPHIC NOTES

EUROPE

England. Four additional "wires, mainl}' for telephone pur])Oses, are
to be laid between London and Paris.

A census taken in iNIarcb last found the population of London, e.xclusive
of the outer suburbs, to be 4,411,271, an increase of 199,528 in five years.

ASIA

India. In 1895 new railways aggregating over 800 miles in length were
opened, while nearly 3,800 miles were under construction or sanctioned.
The net earnings of the Indian railways averaged 5.78 per cent.

China. The imports during 1895 amounted to 171,696,715 taels (the
tael fluctuating between 65 and 74 cents), against 162,102,911 taels in
1894. The exports amounted to 143,293,211 taels, against 128,104,522 taels
in 1894. Silk is now a more important export article than tea. Raw cot-
ton, also, is an export that is increasing very rapidly. Of the total foreign
trade of nearly 315 million taels, Great Britain had over 215 millions,
Japan 32 millions. Continental Europe (excluding Ru-ssia) 29 millions, the
United States 2O5 millions, and the Russian empire 17 millions. Nearly
219 million taels of this trade had its center in the port of Shanghai. The
total number of foreign residents in China last year was 10,091, the British
and Americans leading all other nations, with 4,084 and 1,325 respect-
ively. Of the 603 foreign firms in the empire, 361 were British and 91
German.

AFRICA

Uganda. About 100 miles of the new railway are expected to he con-
structed this year, at a cost of about £520,000. The total outlay will lie
not less than £3,000,000.

• Asha.nti. iMajor Donovan, a British officer, recently visited lake
Busumakwe and is said to be the first white man to have jienetrated that
region. The area of the lake was found to be about 48 s(iuare miles, and
there is no aiijiarent outlet.

• Damomkv-Lagos. The Anglo-French commission for the demarcation
of the boundary between Dahomey and Lagtis has coiii|)leted its task to
the satisfaction of all concerned. Tiie French were found to have occu-
pied several i)laces in British territory and to have been receiving taxes
therefrom, but the representatives of the French government i>romptly
withdrew on this fact being established.

P>iHTiHH Ckntkal Ai-'kica. Mr A. J. Swann, the British magistrate at
Kotakota, lake Nya.«sa, who some time ago discovered some remarkable
fresh-water medusa;, has recently found an immense bed of lime fo.ssils

252

MISCELLANEA

and flint, and the Royal Society of London has sent out an expedition to
examine and report upon tlie latter discovery, with a view to throwing
light on the origin of the great African lakes.

NORTH AMERICA

British A.merica. The government of Newfoundland is issuing bonds
for the construction and equipment of a railway from a point on the Ex-
ploits river about 200 miles from Placentia Junction to Port-aux- Basques.

AUSTRALASIA

Au.str.\li.\. An expedition left Adelaide on May 22 to explore the in-
terior of the island. Its return is not expected until late in 1897.

POLAR REGIONS

The .steam-yacht Windward left London for Franz Josef Land on June 9
for the relief of the Jackson expedition. She carried a very large supply
of provisions, a number of sledges, 5,000 tabloids of the essential proper-
ties of blood, and several thousand letters and packages. The Windward
will call at Vardo to take on board coal, sheep, and reindeer, and she ex-
pects to communicate with the explorers at cape Flora, Franz Josef Land,
on or about July 20. The return of the exploring party before 1897 is,
however, very unlikely.

MISCELLANEA

The Suez C.\x.\i>. The traffic through the Suez canal in 1895 comprised
3,4:J4 ships, of 8,448,383 tons, with 216,938 passengers. Of the ships,
2,318 were British, 314 German, 278 French, 192 Dutch, 78 Italian, 72
Austrian, 57 Norwegian, 39 Russian, 36 Turkish, 33 Spanish, 5 American,
3 Portuguese, 2 Chinese, 2 Egyptian, 2 Japanese, 2 Swedish, and i Danish.
Of the passengers, 118,639 were soldiers, 74,878 civilians, and 23,421 pil-
grims and emigrants. The total receipts were 78,426,000 francs, an in-
crease of 4,299,000 francs, gross, and of 3,172,000 francs, net, over those
of 1894. The average duration of the transit was 16 hours 18 minutes,
a reduction of 23 minutes from the average of the preceding year.

Deep-se.\ Soundings. The British Admiralty has just issued its report
of the deep-sea soundings conducted by shij^s of the royal navy in 1895.
Commander A. F. Balfour, in the Penguin, while surveying in the South
Pacific, found very deep water to the eastward of a line drawn between
the Friendly and Kermadec islands. Soundings of 5,147 and 5,155 fath-
oms were obtained in latitude 28° 44.4' S., longitude 176° 04' W., and
latitude 30° 27.7' S., longitude 176° 39' W., respectively. The deepest
sounding ever before obtained was 4,655 fathoms, to the northeast of
Japan. The new soundings are therefore deeper by about 3,000 feet than
anything before discov^ered. A remarkable fact in connection with the
new soundings is that these extraordinary depths are not far from land.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE

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EUGENE FIELD MEMORIAL FUND.

A beautiful souvenir volume, containing some of the late lamented
author’s choicest poems, with a fine portrait and many exquisite illustrations,
will be .sent to every contributor of One Dollar (with ten cents added for
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The publishers of Mr. Field’s works have generously waived their copy-
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Send One Dollar and Ten Cents to Henry W. Tiernan and Albert L.
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NA TIONA L GEOGRA PHIC MA GA ZINE

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branches of geogra})hic science :

Mr. Cyrus C. Adams, New York.

])r. Cyrus Adler, Smithsonian Institution.

Mr. Marcus Baker, U. S. Geological Survey.

Capt. John R. Bartlett, U. S. N.

Dr. Francis Brown, Union Theol. Seminary.

lion. Jefferson B. Browne, Collector of Cus-
toms at Key West.

Dr. H. L. Corthell, C. E., New York.

Dr. Elliott Cones.

Hon. William E. Curtis, ex-Director of the
Bureau of the .\merican Republics.

Mr. Frank Hamilton Cushing, Bureau of
American Ethnology.

Dr. Charles W. Dabney, Jr., Assistant vSecre-
tary of Agriculture.

Dr. Win. H. Dali, Smithsonian Institution.

Dr. George David.son, I’resident of the Geo-
graphical Society of the Pacific.

Mr. Arthur P. Davis, U. ,S. Geological Survey.

Mr. Win. M. Davis, Profe.ssor of Pli}'sical Geog-
raphy in Harvard University.

Dr. David T. Day, Chief of the Div. of Mining
Statistics and Technology, U. S. Geol. Sur.

Mr. J. S. Diller, U. S. Geological Survey.

H«ni. John W. P'oster, ex-,Secretary of State.

Mr. Henry Gannett, Chief Geographer, U. S.
Geological .Survey and nth Census.

IMr. G. K. Gilbert, U. S. Geological Survey.

Gen. A. W. Greely, U. S. A., Chief Signal
Officer, War Department.

Hon. Gardiner G. Hubbard, President of the
National Geographic Society.

Dr. Mark W. Harrington, President of the Uni-
versity of the State of Washington.

Lieut. Everett Hayddn, U. S. N., Secretary of
the National Geographic Society.

Mr. Robert T. Hill, U. S. Geological Survey.

Mr. Win. H. Holnie.s, Dir. of the Dept, of An-
thropology, Field Colum. Museum, Chicago.

Dr. Emil Holub, Vienna, Austria.

Dr. Sheldou Jackson, U. S. Commissioner of
Education for Alaska.

Mr. Willard D. Johnson, U. S. Geol. Survey.

Mr. Mark B. Kerr, C. E.

Mr. George Kennan.

Prof. William Libbey, Jr., Princeton Coll., N. J.

Prof. E. McClure, University of Oregon.

Prof. W J McGee, Bureau of American Eth-
nology.

Mr. John E. McGrath, U. S. Coast Survey.

Admiral R. W. Meade, U. S. N.

Dr. T. C. Mendenhall, President of the Poly-
technic Institute, Worcester, Mass.

Dr. C. Hart Merriam, Ornithologist and Mani-
malogist, U. S. Department of Agriculture.

Hon. John H. Mitchell, U. S. S.

Prof. W. L- Moore, Chief of Weather Bureau.

Mr. Frederick H. Newell, Chief Hydrographer
of the U. S. Geological Surve3^

Mr. Herbert G. Ogden, U. S. Coast Surve3^

Lieut. Robert E. Peaiy, U. ,S. N.

Mrs. Robert E. Pear)^

Hon. Geo. C. Perkins, U. S. S.

Mr. William H. Pickering, Professor of .Astron-
omy in Plarvard University.

Major John W. Powell, Director of the Bureau
of American Ethnology.

Prof. W. B. Powell, Superintendent of Schools,
District of Columbia.

Ploti. John R. Procter, President of the U. S.
Civil Service Commission.

Mr. Israel C. Russell, Professor of Geology in
the Univer.sit3' of Michigan.

Dr. N. vS. Shaler, Professor of Geology in Har-
vard University.

Commander Charles D. Sig.sbee, H}'drograplier
to the Bureau of Navigation, Nav)' Dept.

Miss Eliza Rnhaniah Scidmore.

Commander Z. L- Tanner, U. vS. N.

Mr. Frank Vincent, New York.

Hon. Charles D. Walcott, Director of the U. S.
Geological Survey.

Mrs. Fannie B. Ward.

Mr. Bailey Willis, U. S. Geological Survey.

PRINCIPAL CONTENTS OF RECENT NUMBERS.

JANUARY. — Russia in Europe, with map, Hon. Gardiner G. Hubbard ; The Arctic Cruise
of the U. S. Revenue Cutter “Bear,” with illustrations. Dr. ,Sheldon Jackson; The
Scope and Value of Arctic Exploration, Gen. A. W. Greely, U. S. A.

FEBRUARY. — Venezuela: Her Government, People, and Boundary, with map and illustra-
tions, William IC. Curtis ; The Panama Canal Route, with illu.strations, Prof. Robert T.
Hill; The Tehuante])cc Ship Railwaj’, with nia])s, E. L. Corthell, C. E., LL. D. ; The
Pre.sent State of the Nicaragua Canal, Gen. A. W. Grecl}' ; lCx])loralions by the Bureau
of American Ethnolog)’, W J McGee. W/.vt; ;«<//> of thf Orinoco vaUev, showiui^ tcrrilory
lirained bv that roaicnoav its bearing on the Venezuelan Itoniuiary Question.

MARCH. — The So-Called “Jeannette Relics,” Prof. Win. H. Dali ; Nansen’s Polar Expedi-
tion, Gen. /\. W. Greely; The .Submarine Cables of the World, Gustave llerrle ; The
Survey’ and Subdivision of Inilian Territory, with map and illu.slration, Henry Gannett ;
“ I'ree Burghs’’ in the United States, Janies II. Blodgett, .llso charts n) .v jio inches,
s/um'iny Submarine ’I'eley;raph ('ables oj the World and Principal l.aud Lines. L'nll-
pay^c portraits of Dr. Nansen and Prof. IVm. J 1. Dull.

APRIL. — Seriland, with map and illustration, W J McGee and 'Willard I). Johnson; The
Olynijiie Country, with nia]), the late S. C. Gilman; The Discovery of Glacier Bay,
Alaska, Eliz.a Kuhamah Scidmore; 1 lydrograiihj' in the United States, l*'rederick 11.
Newell; Recent Triangulalion in the Ca.scades, S. ,S. Gannett; The .Altitude of Mt.
Adams, WiLshington, Edgar McClure.

MAY. — Africa since i.SSH, with special reference to South .Africa and .Abyssinia, with inaji,
Hon. Gardiner G. Hubbard ; 1‘undainental th-ographic Relation of the 'I'liree .Americas,
with inaj), Prof. Rfibert T. Hill ; 'I'he K.insas River, .Arthur P. Davis. Also portrait of
Hon. Gardiner G. Hubbard, President of the National Geographic Society.

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PIEDMONT PLATEAU
OF VIRGINIA:

THE PHYSIOGRAPHY OF THE REGION,

By prof. W J McGEE;

SPOTTSWOOD’S EXPEDITION OF 1716,

By DR W. M. THORNTON,

Chairman of the Faculty of the University of Virginia;

ALBEMARLE IN REVOLUTIONARY DAYS,

By dr G. brown GOODE;

JEFFERSON AS A GEOGRAPHER,

By gen. a. W. GREELY, U. S. A.,
with other interesting contents.

JUDD & DETWEILER, printers, WASHINGTON, D. C.

3l. VII

AUGUST, 1896

No. 8

The

A. W. GREELY

I I

Honorary Editor: JOHN j^YDE
Hoporary Associate Editjors
W j[m_cGEE - _ ELIZ^ RUHAl^AH SCIliMORE

1 CONTENTS

FRONTISPIECE: PORTRAIT OP HENRY GANNETT.

Chief Geographer of the U. 8. Geological ^turvey.
THE WORK OF THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY.

EIGHTH ANNUAL FIELD MEETING OP THE NATIONAL GEO-/
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GEOGRAPHIC HISTORY OP THE PIEDMONT PLATEAU.

W J McGEE.

SPOTTSWOOD S EXPEDITION OF 1716.

DR WILLIAM M. THORNTON.
JEFFERSON AS A GEOGRAPHER. GEN. A. W. GREELY

ALBEMARLE IN REVOLUTIONARY DAYS. DR G. BROWN GOODE.
Geographic Notes, p. 281; Miscellanea, p. 283.

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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE
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the National Geographic Society is prepared to purchase at rea-
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Of Vol. I, 1889, numbers 2 and 4; of Vol. II, 1890, num-
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NAT. GEOG. MAG.

VOL. VII, 1896, PL. XXVIII

THE

National Geographic Magazine

VoL. VII AUGUST, 1896 No. 8

THE WORK OF THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
SOCIETY*

THE CHARACTER OF THE SOCIETY

The National Geographic Society is a scientific organization.
In common with most other scientific bodies, it is occupied in
both creating and diffusing knowledge. B}'- reason of its activity
in the diffusion of knowledge it has become a popular societ}%
especially in the national capital, where most of the addresses
and technical papers prepared under its auspices are delivered ;
but the essential fact remains that it is a scientific society and
that it is its function to create as well as to diffuse geographic
knowledge.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF GEOGRAPHY

Ancient geogra[)hy was a description of continents and seas,
nations and cities, races and tril)es, and perhaps of animals and
])lants ; in the beginning the descriptions were oral, but with the
invention of sketching, writing, and mapping a permanent geo-
graphic art was developed. Thus ancient geography was chiefly
the description of terrestrial things in words and pictures, and
included the art of descrilfing earth-features with pen and l)rush
and graver. In this stage geograj)hic features were assumed to be
j)ermanent and were described in terms of form and position.

As time passed men observed that tribes and peoples came
and went, that cities were founded and sometimes abandoned,
that nations arose and ))assed away; and thus history came to
Ije and a time element was gradually introduced into geography.

• Siiboliince of ronmrks l>y W J MrGee lU a mpotinx of the Hoard of Managers of tlio
Society on .liineS, IKItri, printed at tlie instance of Itie Board.

254 WORK OF THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY

Still Later it was observed that rivers are diverted, lakes filled
up, and islands submerged through natural agencies ; it was also
found that many shore lines are shifting, that some lands are
rising and others sinking, that all continents are wasting through
the action of rain and rivers, and that the waste of the land is
carried into the seas ; thus geology grew up, and a time element
was introduced even into that part of geogra})hy which deals with
the more persistent earth-forms. In this stage geographic features
were assumed to he changeable, and they were described not only
in terms of form and position, hut in terms of stage or sequence.
This ma}' he called transitional or medieval geography, though
it comes down to the present in the books, and many geographers
and some geographic societies have not yet risen above its plane.

Modern students of earth-forms have observed that rivers cut
their own valleys in definite wa}^s and at definite rates depend-
ing on known conditions, and that eventually the running waters
carve the land into hill and dale, mountain and plain, in a defi-
nite way, albeit varying with altitude, structure, and other con-
ditions. With recognition of the agencies and conditions of
geographic change geogra[)hic history became definite, and it was
found ])ossilde to interpret the record of ages of continent-growth
from the geographic features, great and small, displayed by the
continent. In this way a new science was developed; some-
times it is called the new geograph3^ sometimes the new geology,
sometimes geomorphologj" or geomor})hy. It matters little what
the science is called, but it is important to remember that through
recognition of causes and conditions geography was raised to the
plane of science. This is modern geogra])h\"; and in this stage
geographic features are regarded as definite products of known
agency , and thus as definite records ot’determinate history, and de-
scription in terms of form and position is but a means to a nobler
end, the reading of world-history from geographic features.

So three epochs in geographic development may be recognized,
and their importance is none the less because some of their fac-
tors overlap— for the overlapping of factors is one of the charac-
teristics of development. The first was the ancient or empiric
e{)Och ; the second was the transitional or scholastic epoch ; the
third is the modern or scientific epoch. In its first epoch geog-
raphj' was a meager bod}" of description of features and a crude
art of describing ; in the second epoch it became a richer body of
description of stages as well as features, and the art of describing
was improved ; and in so far as it has entered into the third

WORK OF THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY 255

epoch it has become a science of the earth in which the chaos of
geograjihic features and historical stages is reduced to order,
while the body of description is enriched in quantity and even
more in quality, and the art of describing is greatly im])roved.
So in modern geograj)!!}’’ each district, the continent, even the
entire world is considered not simply as an assemblage of feat-
ures. but as an expression of tangible forces and conditions, a
record of the [>ast, and an index to the future, and thus the dead
features are imbued with living interest. Briefly stated, the an-
cient geograph}" was static, the modern geograph}’’ is essentially
dynamic.

With the transformation of geography from art to science its
method changed. In the ancient and transitional epochs, when
description was the end and aim of geographic work, men sought
unknown lands and waters, and through their zeal and courage
the earth was explored save for small areas in the Americas,
Asia, Africa, and Australia, and for larger but more forbidding
areas in the Arctic and especially in the Antarctic. Modern
geographers in like manner seek the unknown, but their eyes
are flxed on agencies and conditions, or on causes and effects,
rather than on material features, and their aim is the com})lete
reading of terrestrial history rather than the complete mapping
of the terrestrial surface. So, while the methods blend much as
the stages overlap, it is just to say that the early method of
geographic work was exploration, and that the modern method
is research.

THE FUTURE OF GEOGRAPHY

The transformation of geograi)hy began with the introduction
of history and culminated with the incorporation of the principles
of geology. Much was taken also from biology, chiefly through
the doctrine of evolution, which afforded a rational view of
successional relations; but less was obtained from anthropology,
despite the fact that this branch of knowledge was the original
contributor of history. The poverty of anthropology as a donor
of geogra])hic knowledge is due partly to the fact that history
was fettered by scholasticism almost from the beginning, partly
to the fact that students hesitated long before applying thei)rin-
eiples of evolution to human b(‘ings and institutions. Accord-
ingly human geogra|)hy is still in the transitional stage, so far at
least as most of the geographers and geographic institutions of the
world are concerned. It is indeed recognized that tribes and

256 WORK OF THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY

peoples come and go, tiuit cities are founded and sometimes
abandoned, that nations arise and pass away, and the statistician
records the facts as the early geographer described forms and posi-
tions, while the historian records the successive stages as the
medieval geogra[)her noted stages in the wandering of an over-
loaded river ; but the descri{>tion, he it formal or historical, is de-
scription merely, and too rarely reaches the plane of science.
The one thing needful in modern geograph}’’ is suggested by the
advance made through the new geology ; it is definite recognition of
the causes and conditions by which human progress is shaped. When
this fundamental })rinciple is grasped, dead statistics and musty
history will he vivified, just as the dead earth-forms have been im-
bued with living interest, and human geography will rise to the
])lane of science. Now, the first requisite for improvement is
recognition of need, and the common need of geography and
anthropology is so keenly felt by a number of students as to sug-
gest the future, and it may clearly be foreseen that future students
will extend and apply our ever-increasing knowledge of cause
and effect to Imman progress. Statistics and history recorded
in monuments and letters, paintings and gravings furnish the
re(piisite data of form and position and succession, and may be
molded into attractive form, I)ut nothing less than definite recog-
nition of tlie forces by which the successive stages grew will in-
fuse the breath of life into this body of knowledge.

So it may be predicted that the geogra|)hy of the future will
be devoted primarily to research concerning the forces of the
earth, including those affecting peoi)les and institutions as well
as those shaping land-forms and molding faunas and floras, and
that industries, arts, commerce, laws, governments, religions, even
civilization itself, will eventually fall within the domain of defi-
nitely organized science and become incorporated in geography.
Tlie prediction is easy and safe because the geography of the
l)resent is already on the higher plane with respect to the inor-
ganic j)art of its object-matter, is well advanced toward this plane
with respect to the evolution of organisms, and looks up to the
same ])lane with respect to the courses and causes of human
organization; the fulfillment of the prediction will be simply
the consummation 'of present progress.

THE PURPOSES AXD METHODS OF THE SOCIETY

It is the purpose of the National Geographic Society to increase
and diffuse geographic knowledge growing out of research as well

WORK OF THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY 257

as exploration. The more tangible instrumentalities employed
are (1) technical meetings, (2) popular addresses, and (3) a
monthly magazine.

The technical meetings are devoted to the presentation and
discussion of the results of geographic research, the announce-
ment of discoveries made through research or exploration, the
discussion of methods for exploration, survey, research, record,
etc. These meetings are somewhat informal gatherings of a body
of working geographers, bound together by common interest in
geographic progress. Ifach contributes, either under a set title
or in extempore discussion, to the common stock of knowledge ;
each is fresh from field or laboratory, and his ideas are devel-
oped by personal contact Avith the phenomena and forces of
the earth ; collectively, these active geographers form a hive of
busy Avorkers, constantly engaged in extending and improving
the science of the earth, and their researches are stimulated by
the encouragement and association found in the Society. The
communications are illustrated, as required, by maps, sketches,
stereopticon vieAVS, objects, apparatus, etc. The meetings are
o]-)en to members and guests of the Societ}q but the partici]Aants
are chiefly geographic Avorkers and teachers. The Avorking geog-
raphers Avho maintain tlie technical meetings are for the most
})art officers of the scientific bureaus and of the arm}'- and navy
of the federal government; and in no other center in the Avorld
are there so many AVorking geographers occupied in so extensive
a field. Other contributors come from the universities and col-
leges and the normal and high schools of the national caj)ital and
neighboring cities ; and still others are distinguished teachers,
explorers, or investigators in geography from other parts of the
country and from foreign lands. So far as the official surveys
and other geographic operations of the federal government are
concerned, the National Geographic Society is a scientific clear-
ing-house in Avhich the coin of knoAvledge and the securities of
science are e.xchanged and distrilmted to mutual benefit.

The popular meetings are devoted to (a) addresses by distin-
guished geograpliers on topics of current interest suggested either
by research or exploration, and (//) series of lectures on impor-
tant phases of geograi)hic science by distinguished investigators
or teachers. The popular lecturers are usually leading expo-
nents of geographic thought in this and other countries. 'I'he
addresses are illustrated usually by stereopticon vicAvs, .some-
times by maps ami sketches or objects in addition. 'I'lie attend-

258 WORK OF THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY

ance at the popular meetings commonly ranges frojn 500 to 1,500,
and comprises working geograi)hers and teachers, as well as in-
telligent lav[)eople, and includes a considerable s])rinkling of
youth, mainly students in universities and schools. In choosing
popular speakers on current topics, {U’eference is given either to
actual explorers or original investigators who are known to treat
geography as a branch of science, and such sj)eakers arrange and
l)resent their matter freel}% save that the excessive use of j)icture
and anecdote is discouraged — the object is to instruct as well as
entertain. Still greater care is given to the selection of lecturers
for the organized courses. The first requisite is that each speaker
shall be a recognized authority ; the second is that the treatment
shall be scientific — tliat superficial description and pictorial illus-
tration shall be subordinate to the exposition of relations and
principles. The lecture courses of the last two years exemplify
the methods of the Society. Nominalh’, they were descriptions
and illustrations of tran.scontinental tours ; the descriptions were
])resented b\' careful students of the several areas described, and
the illustrations were the finest lantern slides obtainable, show-
ing noted scenic features; yet the e.ssential characteristic of the
lectures was the interpretation of the geograj)hic features in
terms of agency and history in such manner that each gave a
picture of geographic develoi)ment, while the course }’ielded a
living panorama of world-making. When Niagara was depicted
in sun and word picture it was not simply as one of the world’s
wonders, but as a potent geographic agency and eloquent record
of continent growth. To this character the success of the lecture
courses must be ascribed. Other lecturers describe mountains
and canyons and picturesque coasts as scenic features with in-
different success as measured bv the interest developed ; the
Society’s lecturers descril>ed mountain, glacier, plain, river, coast,
and city as marking stages in a grand procession of events, and
opened vistas through the ages with gratifying succe.ss as meas-
ured b\' the display of interest. Thus the popular addresses
are not designed primarily for entertainment, for the display of
eloquence or the revelation of pictorial art, or for minute accounts
of geogra|)hic features; they are designed for diffusing interest
and definite knowledge concerning geographic science.

The X.\ti()Xal Geogk.\phic ]\I.\g.\zixe is a medium of com-
munication between geographers within and without the Society,
and its aim is to convey new information and at the same time
to reflect current opinion on geographic matters. In the selec-

NAT. GEOG. MAG.

MEETING OF THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY, MAY 16, 1896

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY

259

tion of articles, books for review, subjects of notes, etc, preference
is given first to original records of personal work in exploration
and research, and next to systematic writings tending to organ-
ize, and thereby to advance and improve, geographic knowledge.

Some of the most efficient instrumentalities employed by the
Society in |)romoting geographic knowledge are more or less in-
tangible. Through a large and widely scattered corresponding
membership, interest in modern geography is diffused through-
out the country ; through the public, high, and normal school
teachers, especially in the District of Columbia and iUaryland,
who are affiliated with the Society, a steadily increasing influ-
ence is exerted on elementary geographic education. All the
leading American universities are represented in the Society,
and through them its influence on more advanced education is
large and constantly increasing ; all the leading state and fed-
eral surveys, geographic and geologic, are also represented, and
in this way the surve}^s are brought into closer harmony, their
interests are promoted, their efficiency is increased, and the ]>eople
are benefited. In this and other ways the National Geographic
Society strives to contribute to the scientific progress and thus
to the material welfare of all parts of the countiy ; and there is
evidence that its efforts are far from unsuccessful.

EIGHTH ANNUAL FIELD MEETING OF THE NATIONAL
GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY

The annual field meeting, held at Monticello, near Charlottes-
ville, Virginia, on Saturday, INIay 16, was noteworthy as the first
meeting of the National Geographic Society in the well-defined
geographic province known as the Piedmont plateau.

A special train left M'^ashington at D.OO a. m., carrying about
300 members and guests of the Society. Peaching Charlottesville
at noon, the visitors were conveyed in carriages to Monticello, the
homestead of Thomas .Jefferson. Here they were welcomed by
Mayor .John S. Patton, of Charlottesville, in a felicitous address.
Pesi)onding, President Ilubbanl happily characterized Char-
lottesville as an intellectual center of the south, and, referring
))articularly to Monticello, eulogized .Telfer.son as statesman, citi-
zen, geographer, educator, and man. “ .Jelferson,” he said, “ was
a man of acts, not words. His name is better known and more

260

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY

revered today than wlien he died. No nobler epitaph was ever
written on tlie tomli of any man than on that of Jefferson : ‘ The
author of the Declaration of Independence and the founder of
the University of Virginia.’ ” An address of welcome on the
part of the University of Virginia by the Rector, Dr W. C. N.
Randolph, was then presented, to which General Greely re-
sponded. INIr Rosewell Page, of Richmond, spoke gracefully on
behalf of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia An-
tiquities, welcoming the National Geographic Society to Virginia,
and describing tlie work of the Association in preserving James-
town and other historic sites of geographic interest ; and Mr Jef-
ferson M. Levy, owner of Monticello, in a few well-chosen words,
extended the hospitality of the historic mansion to the Society.
As an alumnus of the Universit}' of Virginia and a member of the
National Geographic Society, the Rev. Dr Randolph H. IMcKim
delivered an entertaining address on “ Jefferson at Home.” He
described the founding of the university under Jefferson’s plans
and tireless supervision, and explained the admirable principles
by which the university is controlled — the high scholarship,
the elective system, the personal-honor system of discipline, the
j)rincii)le of religious freedom — and showed by illustration and
exam})le tliat the breadth and soundne.ss of education in this
institution prove Jefferson to have been far in advance of his
times as an educator. Addresses followed on the “ Physiography
of tlie Piedmont Plateau,” on Albemarle in Revolutionary
Days,” and on “ Spottswood’s Expedition of 1716;” these are
appended. After a collation the visitors attended a most agree-
able reception at the university.

The details of the meeting were arranged by a committee under
the chairmanship of Dr David T. Day, including representatives
from the municipality of Charlottesville and the University of
Virginia, the Sons of the American Revolution, the Daughters
of the American Revolution, the Association for the Preservation
of Virginia Antiquities, and the Columbia Historical Society.

The addresses of special geographic interest follow.

GEOGRAPHIC HISTORY OF THE PIEDMONT PLATEAU

By W J McGee

Monticello is the northernmost knob of a low mountain ran^e ;
it overlooks a fair and fertile plain, glorious in vernal verdure
and the promise of a rich harvest of golden grain and purple
grapes in autumn. The plain is not monotonously smooth ;
here it undulates in graceful swells, there it dips into rocky river
gorges winding across its width, and elsewhere it rises into rugged
ranges running j^arallel with the neighboring Blue Ridge. Such
is the Piedmont plain within view of Monticello, and such is the
province throughout its extent from New Y"ork to Alabama;
everywhere it is bounded on the southeast by the coastward low-
land and on the northw'est by the Appalachian mountains, and
everywhere it rises so high above the coastal plain that it is fitly
called a plateau. This undulant upland, with its transverse
riverways, its parallel ranges, and its fertile soil, is a record of
unwritten history stretching far into the wordless past.

Consider the rivers and the tributaries by which they are fed :
Rivanna river runs yellow with mud ; sometimes it is clearer,
hut after the great storm or the vernal freshet it is still more
heavily laden with earth matter washed in from the hills; thus
the Rivanna with its tributaries, and all the neighboring rivers
of the province are incessant!}^ carrying the debris of the land to
the sea. How much the Rivanna carries has not been measured,
but the burdens l)orne by the Mississippi and Potomac and
many other rivers have been weighed and a rate for river woi’k
has been fixed, and thus it is known that the Rivanna, with its
tributary mill-streams and brooks and storm rills, robs the land
on which its waters gather of a layer of soil a third of an inch in
average thickness during each century. This is an initial point
in the reading of geographic history. He who desires to com-
prehend the record of the ages must realize that the land is not
an indestructildc thing, that the hills are not eternal, that the
streams work ever and in time accomplish much ; he must un-
derstand that since Jamestown was founded an inch of soil or
rock has been removed from every average acre ahout Rivanna

2(U

262 GEOGRAPHIC HISTOR Y OF PIEDMONT PLA TEA U

river and elsewhere throughout the Piedmont province. So the
brawling brooks and turbulent rivers declare that the Piedmont
hills and valleys are slowly but incessantly wasting.

Consider the ways in which the waters run : Some rivers flow
sluggishly in broad, flat-bottomed valle}'s flanked by gentle
slopes, but the Rivanna and all its feeders and neighbors rush
through narrow, rock-bound gorges, and on reaching the coastal
plain cascade over huge bowlders and rugged ledges down nearly
or quite to tide-level. Now, swift-flowing waters cut their chan-
nels quickly, and the fact that all the Piedmont rivers, large and
small, are incessantly corrading their beds yet are unable to
carve them down to tide-level, proves that the land is lifting.
This is the second of the two starting ])oints in the reading of
geographic history; he who would learn how continents come
to be must realize that the earth-crust is ever warping, that all
lands are slowl}’^ rising or sinking in some of their parts, and
that streams are living witnesses of the movement — for without
this realization he must needs linger at the threshold of knowl-
edge, where the forefathers unwittingly loitered before geograjdiy
became science, and leave to others thejo}" of full understanding.
The rate of land-lifting has not been measured, but since even
the strongest streams are unable to cut their narrow channels
down to tide-level, the rate must be many times the mean sur-
face waste. Probably the Piedmont is rising about as rapidly
as the adjacent lowland is sinking, and this has been reckoned
at two feet j)er centur}" in New Jersey, and may be one-third so
much in Virginia. By reason of the land-lifting the modern
Piedmont channels are carved sharply in the rock; these chan-
nels are but the bottoms of sharp-cut gorges 100 to 300 feet deep
(the trenches of the recently defined Ozarkian epoch), and thus
the gorges indicate that the lifting of the Piedmont is not the
movement of a day or millenium merely, but has continued
through ages. So the rushing rivers and rugged riverways of
the Piedmont declare that the province is now, and long has
been, rising more rapidly than the hills and valleys are wasting.

Consider ne.xt the parallel mountain ranges: Monticello and
the rest of Carter mountain are but a ridge of hard rock scored
b}’ ravines and thinly mantled with soil, and Ragged mountain
on the west. Southwest mountain on the north, and all the other
ranges diversifying the plateau are its counterparts. The moun-
tains are ribbed with silicious schists or quartzites or other rocks
that resist well the work of the weather, the beating of storms,

GEOGRAPHIC HISTOR Y OF PIEDMONT PLA TEA U 2G3

and the cutting of streams, while the rocks underlying the fertile
fields of the plain are softer schists easily weathered and worn
away. Now, the development of topographic forms is an evolu-
tion whose key-note is the survival of the hardest”; hence the
Piedmont ranges may be (and indeed must be, since no other
rational exi>lanation has ever been framed) regarded as remnants
of an ancient plateau whose softer portions have been swe})t away
b}’’ the storms and streams of the ages. These ranges rise 500 to
2,000 feet above the undulant plain by which they are flanked ;
it follows that not onl}'- the vertical furlongs required to raise the
present plateau to the higher crests has been borne seaward, but
so much more as the crests themselves may have lost ; it follows,
too, that the time required for the waste of these thousands of
vertical feet of rock matter at the known rate of a third of an
inch in a century must have been vast, too vast for ready reali-
zation. So the Piedmont ranges declare the antiquit}'’ of the
province, and testify that the modern plateau is but the founda-
tion of a greater one in ages gone.

Turn now to the structure of the rocks exposed in gorge and
mountain side: Collectively these are known as the Piedmont
schists ; they are harder or softer, traversed by dikes, or cut by
quartz veins, but everywhere they are highly tilted in a trend
conforming to the extension of the province; yet the composi-
tion of the schists indicates that they were originally marine
sediments such as are accumulated in nearly horizontal sheets
on the sea bottom. Now, sedimentary rocks are tilted and
altered only by profound movements in the earth-crust which
at the same tiine produce great mountain ranges, and the struc-
ture of the Piedmont rocks indicates that they are the roots of a
broad mountain range ; such is the conclusion of modern geol-
ogy. Under this interpretation, the undulant and mountain-
embossed plateau of the Piedmont must be regarded as the basal
portion of a vast mass of inclined rocks of winch an unmeasured
upper j)ortion has been planed away ; no trace of tbe original
surface api)ears; tbe softer strata end in tbe soil and tbe harder
strata crop out in the ranges, and both point mutely to an ancient
surface far al)Ove ; there is nothing to indicate that originally the
mass may not have extended ten miles upward, and tbe struc-
ture cannot be interpreted by geology save by assuming that its
summit was at least half a mile or a mile above the highest
crests of today. W'liile tbe height of tbe ancient mountain
of which the present I'iedinont is the foundation may not be

2(54 GEOGRAPHIC HISTOR Y OF PIEDMONT PL A TEA U

measured in the province, it may be determined roughly from
the neighboring Appalachian province, where the sedimentary
strata are corrugated as by compression from southeast to north-
west into long ranges trending parallel with the provinces, and
where the rocks are so little altered that their thickness may be
measured accurately. The two provinces are closely related,
differing chiefly in the greater compression suffered by the Pied-
mont rocks ; and frequently in the mountain ])rovince, as always
in the Piedmont, the strata expose planed edges. Now the planed
A])palachian strata are three miles or more in vertical thickness,
demonstrating that so much of rock matter has been carried
away; and while the Piedmont waste may have been somewhat
greater or a trifle less, all authorities are agreed that at least one
and probably three or more vertical miles of rock matter have
gone into the sea. The evidence of the two provinces is cor-
roborated by that of a third ; for the coastal plain, to a width of
some hundred miles and a depth of some thousand feet, is built
of sediments demonstrably derived from the lost mountains.
The time required for the paring down and bearing away of this
immense mass of rock at the known rate of an inch in three
centuries, or at any other conceivable rate, is vast, so vast as to
tax the mind; yet he who falters at accepting the facts of mass
or time only confesses failure to grasp this and other problems
of modern geography. So the Piedmont rocks attest that the
])i’ovince is but the foundation of a range, say 75 miles wide and
3 miles high ; and the rivers and the rocks declare with one voice
that this vast volume has been swept into the sea to build another
province. This story of the moving of mountains is striking :
Colorado canyon is sometimes regarded as the world’s most im-
pressive exam})le of the w'ork of rain and river, yet the Piedmont
is still more impressive ; for the James and Potomac and Susque-
hanna must have traversed the ancient range in gorges no less
profound than the Grand canyon, yet the storms and tributary
streams stayed not when the canyons were cut, but continued
consuming the can}mn walls until the}^ were gone, even until
the mountains were not — the Colorado has cut a trench, the
Piedmont rivers have carved a province.

Thus the fertile plain of the Piedmont, the transverse river-
ways, the parallel ranges, the subsoil rocks, teem with history
which he who tarries a little may clearly read ; they tell that the
land is wasting into the sea at measured rate, yet that in the
present epoch the land-mass is lifting still more rapidly; they

SPOTTSWOOD'S EXPEDITION OF 1716

265

tell that these processes wrought in the past (the long past whose
hours are as millions of years) so persistently that they moved
a mountain range and lined an ocean-side. The soil, too, tells
of conquest over savages and beasts, of the blossoming of the
wilderness at human behest, of the flowering of culture and the
ripening of intellect, over all the fair and fertile plain wrought
during the ages ; but this story of man’s dominion is writ clearer
in the leaves of books than in the furrows of the fields.

SPOTTSWOOD’S EXPEDITION OF 1716

By Dr William M. Thornton,

Chairman of the Faculty of the University of Virginia

Nearly 180 years ago there was formed in the Old Dominion
a prototype of the National Geographic Society. The governor
of the colony, Alexander Spottswood — trained in Marlborough’s
legions and bearing honoraide scars from Blenheim — was its
head. Robert Beverly, the historian of Virginia ; .John Fontaine,
the chronicler of their exploration, with Todd and Robinson and
Taylor and Brooke and Mason, and other names famous in Vir-
ginian annals, were on the roll. The fortunate preservation of
Fontaine’s Journal, and its publication* in the Rev. Philip
Slaughter’s “ History of St. Mark’s Parish,” makes it eas}'’ to
attempt a reproduction of the story of this historic ride.

Ten of these Virginian gentlemen, with four Indian guides and
two small companies of rangers, assembled on August 26, 1716,
at Germanna, on the banks of the Rappahannock, and set out
thence to explore the passes of what they called the “ highest
ridge of mountains.” “ For this exjiedition,” says tlie Rev Hugh
Jones, chaplain of the House of Burgesses, “ they were obliged
to provide a great quantity of horseshoes, things seldom used in
the eastern part of Virginia, where there are no stones, upon
which account the governor, upon his return, presented each of
his companions with a golden horseshoe, with the inscription on
one side — Sicjuvat tatmcendere montes.^^ Such was the badge of
this early society of explorers, now called in Virginian stoiy the
“ Knights of the Golden 1 lorseslnx;.”

One of these little golden memorials of that far-off time would

* Duo aoknowloilgment Ih rnnilorod to tliifi vuluultio monogriip)i.

2G6

SPOTTSWOOD'S EXPEDITION OF 1716

be a highly prized treasure in our own day, when a lively interest
in the history of our commonwealth renders precious every
genuine relic of its heroic age; hut all of them would seem to
have perished. In that dismal effort to endow this charming
story of Spottswood’s ride with romantic and tragic interest,
" The Knight of the Horse Shoe,” by Dr Wm. A. Caruthers, is
contained the following letter, which gives authentic evidence
of the ])reservation of one of these ornaments to a late da}'. But
even this Caruthers himself seemed unable to secure.

“St. JfLiEN' (near Fredericksburg), Va., Pehi-uary 25, 1841-
“ To Dr Tf w. .1. Caruthers.

“My Dear Sir: I have received your letter of the 5th inst., and in
reply to it I can only say, what I said some years past to my friend, George
Summers, on the subject of }’Our letter. I said to him that I had seen,
in the j)Osse.ssion of the eldest hrancli of my family, a golden horseshoe
set with garnets, and having inscribed on it the motto, 'Sic jurat transcen-
dere monte.s,' which from tradition I always understood was presented by
Governor Spottswood to my grandfather as one of many gentlemen who
accompanied him across the mountains.

“ With great respect, yours,

“ Francis Brooke.”

Horseshoes alone did not make up their outfit. There were
saddle and pack horses in abundance, great store of ])rovisions,
guns and pistols and ammunition, that they might replenish
their commissariat with game, and with true Virginian hospi-
tality an “ extraordinary variety of liquors,” used with generous
and patriotic fervor. There were red wine and white, wdiisky
and brandy, two sorts of rum, champagne, canary, cider, shrub,
“and so forth,” says the exhausted chronicler, and they were
dealt out with a liberal hand. On .Sejitember 6. they ascended
a peak of the Massanutten — fancying themselves at the summit
of the continental ridge — and standing on this terminus of their
journey they dedicated their discoveries to His Majesty King
George the First. After a good dinner they got the men to-
gether, fired a volley, and drank the king’s health in cham-
pagne; then came another volley, with the ])rincess’s health in
Burgundy ; then another, wdth the health of the royal family in
claret ; then a fourth, with the health of the governor, and so
perhaps continuing till even the youngest knight of their royster-
ing Round Table had been honored by his volley and his toast.
Through all their expedition good fellowship and cheerful con-
verse brightened the way. “ We arrived at a large spring,” said

SPOTTSWOOD'S EXPEDITION OF 1716

267

Fontaine, “ where we dined and drank a bowl of punch.” And
again, ‘‘ We made large fires, pitched our tents, and cut boughs
to lie on, had good liquor, and at ten we went to sleep.”

And 3^et our convivial geographers did not shrink from liard
riding and hard work. Their journey followed the course of the
Ra])pahannock to its fork, and thence pursued the Rapidau to
its sources, whence, passing into the valley of the headwaters of
the James, they crossed the Blue Ridge at Swift Run gap, de-
scended the western flank, forded the Shenandoah, “ drank some
healths,” as by invariable custom, on the other side, ascended
the Massanutten, and there celebrated the completion of their
journey with joyous salvos and flowing goblets. The route was
no eas}’’ one, as it wound its way through those primeval forests,
untrodden save by the wild bea.st and the wilder Indian. An
average day’s journey was less than ten miles. “ We had a
rugged way,” writes Fontaine, on the 2d of September. “We
passed over a great many small runs of water, some of which
were ver\^ deep and others very iniiy. Several of our com})any
were dismounted, some were down with their horses, and some
thrown off.” On September 3 they “ came to a thicket so tightly
laced together that we had a great deal of trouble to get through.
Our baggage was injured, our clothes torn all to rags, and the
saddles and holsters also torn.” The axmen were constantly in
request, clearing away the vines and briars to make a bridle-
path. But cheerful sjjirits and brave hearts carried them through
every danger. Each night they would make large fires, pitch
tlieir tents, and after hearty feasting and cheerful talk fall asleep
on their rough couches of green boughs, keeping always a sentry
at the governor’s door. All their troubles were lightl\' taken.
“ This was some hindrance,” says Fontaine of one of them, “ and
did a little damage, but afforded a great deal of diversion.”
Game and fish were naturally plentiful, and sport Avas thus
added t(> the ideasures of their journe}^ From the beginning
they had venison in abundance, which they roasted before their
camj) fires on wooden forks and washed down with generous
draughts of wine. Bears were killed almost daih' — often three
in one day. On the western sloi)e of the Blue Ridge the}' saw
“ the footing of elk and buffaloes and their beds.” 'I'nrkeys
abounded all along their way. ^^’hen they chanced upon neither
deer nor turkeys the}' “ ate part of one of the bears, which tasted
very well and would be go«>d and might pass for veal if one did
not know what it was.” While they camped on the banks of

SPOTTSWOOD'S EXPEDITION OF 1716

2riS

the Shenandoah, writes Fontaine, “ I got some grasshoppers and
fished, another and 1, and we catched a dish of fish, some perch
and a kind of fish the}' called chuh. The others went a-hunt-
ing and killed deer and turkeys.” There were rattlesnakes, too,
to be killed and hornets to be fought, and at least once the bear
objected to the sacrificial rite, attacking the man who rode after
him and narrowly missing him ; “ he tore the things that he had
behind him from the horse and would have destroyed him had
he not had immediate help from the other men and our dogs.”
So their expedition did not lack the spice of peril to season its
hilarity. Two men fell sick with measles also and had to be
left in camp with guards and taken up again on the homeward
march, but all in the end went well, and after a ride of nine days
out and four days back the gallant party reached Germanna
once more.

The question has sometimes been raised whether Spottswood’s
was the first company to attempt the crossing of the Blue Ridge
and the exploration of the regions beyond. .John P. Hale, for
exami)le, in bis “ Transallegheny Pioneers,” states that Colonel
Aljraham Wood, under a concession from the colonial governor
(Richard Rennet) “ to ex{)lore the country and open up trade
with the Indians to the west,” crossed the mountains in 1654,
})robably at Wood’s gap — far to the south of Spottswood’s line
of march — and again that Governor Berkeley, in 1666, dispatched
an ex})loring party under Captain Henry Batte, who followed
the same route as Wood. Hale offers no documentary evidence
to support these claims and the writer has been able to discover
none. Until thus authenticated they must rest in the limbo of
unverified traditions, and Spottswood must wear his rightful
laurels as the first white man who with serious purpose led a
company across this boundary of our colonial civilization, and
set the example so promptly followed by the hardy pioneers,
who faced the perils of the wilderness and built their homes in
the fair valley of Virginia.

What, then, were the serious purposes of this earliest recon-
naissance of the Blue Ridge? for, of course, the grave and sa-
gacious Spottswood was not the man to prosecute such a journey
merely that he might say at the end “ we were very merry and
diverted ourselves with our adventures.” “ The chief aim of my
expedition,” he writes in 1718 to the Board of Trade, ‘'was to
satisfy myself whether it was practicable to come at the lakes.”
What he did was to trace the Rappahannock to its source, to

JEFFERSON AS A GEOGRAPHER

269

identif}’ tlie springs of the James, to “ find an easy passage over
tliat great ridge of mountains (the Blue Ridge') hitherto deemed
impassable,” and then he fancied the problem solved, and be-
lieved himself within easy reacli of the streams which fed lake
Erie and her vast sisters. AVe know now that he was misled by
the Indians and deceived himself; that the great valle}" of Vir-
ginia stretched before him untraversed ; that beyond lay the
unsealed heights of the Alleghanies, and then the broad prairies
of the Xorthwest. It was far from being such an easy matter,
as Spottswood thought, thus to gain possession of these lakes.
But the daring and martial spirit which such wild-wood adven-
tures fostered in Virginian breasts was the spirit which sixty
years later reared on American soil an everlasting altar to free-
dom; which thrilled Virginia’s great orator when he cried, “ I
know not what other men may do ; but as for me, give me
liberty or give me death ; ” which inspired Massachusetts’ noble
statesman, when he swore to abide by the Declaration of Inde-
pendence, “ sink or swim, live or die, survive or perish.” To
recall this spirit and all that aided to nurture and strengthen it
seems not inappropriate here beneath the roof of the author of
that declaration, in sight of his cradle at Shadwell, and with the
birthplace of George Rogers Clarke, the hei’o of Kaskaskia and
Vincennes, at our feet; for it was left for this hardy warrior to
perfect in battle and in march the work which Spottswood’s
genial and jovial company had ])urposed peacefully to begin.

JEFFERSON AS A GEOGRAPHER

By General A. W. Greely,

Chief Signal Officer, Eniled Slates Armij

It is a forlorn liope that I am undertaking, to answer an unde-
livered si)ccch, to speak but three minutes, and to say something
of interest. I will at least say that the reasons which make
Monticello one of America’s shrines are too well known to need
e.xtended comment from me. As long as a love of liberty abides
in American hearts, as long as a <lesire for knowledge stirs youth-
ful minds, so long will the name of Thomas .lefh'rson he lu;re
cherished. He was a man worthy of honor, whether consideiasl
as an individual founding the University of Virginia, as a Vir-
18

270

JEFFERSON A GEOGRAPHER

ginian shedding luster on his native state, or as a citizen doing,
in that broader national field things of greater import for his
country and for oppressed humanity everywhere. Trite may
have Ijeen the truths he uttered, but he voiced so apth" and
clearly the aspirations of the people that his words yet thrill
mankind and will in centuries to come.

The National Geographic Society erred not in making ]\Ionti-
cello the scene of its annual field day. Bear in mind that of all
our Presidents Jefferson is the only one of whom we can .say,
“ He was a geographer.” We do not know how far he aided his
father in the surveys or draughting that resulted in the famed
Jefferson and Fry map of Virginia, published in London in 1775,
under Jefferys, the royal geographer, hut we can well imagine
young Jefferson eagerly studying its western and scarcely known
limits, then given over to the Indian and the Spaniard. Doubt-
le.ss from such studies his comprehending mind, in a manner
common to all men of genius, stored geographic facts and ideas
that better fitted him for his life duties. Men of genius make all
knowledge tributary to their particular interests and ambitions.

In the days of travail for this nation, when to Europe America
was a land of savages and forests, then it was that Jeffer.son did
his first geographical wo*rk, writing “ Notes on Virginia,” to make
known to the statesmen of France the resources and possibilities
of a struggling colony. We know that the book was timely and
effective, and we believe that it broadened the mind of Jefferson.
His greatest geographic iheasure was his extra-constitutional act
of annexation by purchase of the great territory of Louisiana.
He realized that the only natural southern boundary of the
United States of his day was the gulf of Mexico. To the south
and southwest the pre.sence of Latin races meant constant irrita-
tion and misunderstandings between them and the Anglo-Saxons.

Louisiana acquired, Jefferson, like a good geographer, initiated
a survey of its immense and unknown areas, sending Lewis and
Clarke to the west, and Pike first to the north and then to the
southwest. With unwonted wisdom and courage, even before
the territory was formally transferred, he sent Lewis and Clarke
on their long and perilous journey, the first as well as the most
important of all American exi)lorations. Their three years’
journey taught the way to the Pacific overland, and their dis-
covery of the upper valley of the Columhia, conjoined with
Gray’s entrance at the mouth of that noble waterway in 1792,
insured the title of the United States to Oregon territory in 1845.

ALBEMARLE IN REVOLUTIONARY DAYS

271

Without Jefferson’s original action we might well have been
without a foothold on the Pacific today.

Remember that he was also foremost, if not first, in formu-
lating plans and methods whereby the ])ublic lands should not
lie wild and fallow, but serve their purj)ose of developing the
nation’s power b}' passing S3^stematically and easily into the
hands of the settler and farmer, which has proved the basis of
our phenomenal growth and prosi)erit}\

While we pay tribute to Jefferson as an individual, as a citi-
zen, as a lover of libertv, and as a President, let us not forget his
special claim to recognition as one of the greatest of American
geographers.

ALBEMARLE IN REVOLUTIONARY DAYS

By Dr G. Broavn Goode,

Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, in Charge of the U. S.

National Museum

The ke}’' to the historv of Virginia in colonial and revolutionary
days is to be found in the study of its rivers. So numerous are
these and so wide that in their lower ]>ortions they can be crossed
onlv in boats, and so far do they extend into the interior that in
early days the lines of travel were almost entirel\^ along their
courses.

The region of the mountains was reached by roads -which were
])arallel to the rivers, and the currents of western migration
])assed through “gaps ” or passes in the Blue Ridge which were
traversed by the streams which form the headwaters.

Between the principal rivers are peninsulas which stretch forth
toward the sea like the fingers of a great hand : Accomac, or the
‘‘ Eastern Shore,” between the Delaware and the Sus<[uehanna ;
the Maryland peninsula, between the Susfiuehanna and the
Potomac; the Northern Neck, the domain of Lord Fairfax, be-
tween the Potomac and the Ra[)pahannock ; the Gloucester
])eninsula, between the Rappahannock and the York; the York-
town peninsula, between the York and th(^ Potomac, and South-
side Virginia, l»etween the James and the Dan-Roanoke. The
Shenandoah valle\’, I>ounded hv mountains rather than river
courses, was similarly isolated, though \)y different means. Each
of these had a history of its own, to a certain extent distinct and

ALBEMARLE LN REVOLUTIONARY DAYS

272

peculiar. The people of these areas were isolated in early colo-
nial days ; intermarried chiefly with each other generation after
generation, and formed permanent relationships which may he
traced even now after the lapse of two centuries. At the time of
the Revolution there were only two roads traversing Vii’ginia
from north to south. One passed from Philadelj^hia, by way of
Newcastle, Del., Annapolis, Md., Alexandria, Fredericksburg,
and Williamsburg, to the western settlements of North Carolina,
crossing all rivers near the head of navigation exce|)t the James
and the Roanoke. This road was serviceable only for passenger
traffic, and for through travel was used almost exclusively by
horsemen. The other was “ The Great Waggon Road ” from Phil-
adelphia to the head of the Yadkin, in North Carolina. It fol-
lowed the course of the ancient Indian road used for centuries
before by the tribes of the east in their excursions from the
Atlantic seal)oard to the great hunting grounds in Kentucky and
Tennessee, and as early as 1750 was the principal line of com-
merce between the Northern states and the Carolinas and Geor-
gia. It traversed the entire length of the Shenandoah valley,
crossing the Potomac some 20 miles above Harpers Ferry, near
the mouth of the Couococheague creek. It was the position of
the Couococheague upon this great highway which gave it such
prominence in the days when the site of the national capital was
being selected, and which almost led to the location of the capital
here rather than where it now stands.

The main artery of Virginia was the James, and it was to the
fact that the county of Albemarle was near its head and at that
time almost upon the western frontier that its peculiar relation
to the events of the Revolution was due.

Twenty-five miles east of Monticello is the great fork of the
James river, which at that time was considered to be its head.
Here two streams converge to form one greater one ; the northern-
most is the Rivanna, which rises on the eastern slopes of the
Blue Ridge, then flows by Charlottesville and through the pass
at Monticello; the southernmost the Fluvanna, rising far to the
west in the midst of the Alleghanies, breaking through the Blue
Ridge at Balcony hills (close to the Natural bridge), a hundred
miles or more above its junction with the Rivanna. This, which
is far the more important of the two, is now called the “ Upper
James.”

The names of these streams are monuments to the loyalty of
the early colonists. The James bears the name of the monarch

ALBEMARLE IN REVOLUTIONARY DA YS

273

wlio ruled over England when Virginia was planted, and Rivanna
and Fluvanna were named for his granddaughter, Queen Anne,
for whom also were named the Rapid Anne, which we crossed
on our way hither, as well as the South Anna and the North
Anna, which drain the region just to the eastward. Rivanna
w’as compounded b}’’ some enthusiast from the two words
“ river ” and “Anna.” Fluvanna is precisely the same, except
that he used the Latin equivalent for the word river.

The old county of Albemarle, much larger at the beginning of
the Revolution than now, occupied the triangle formed by the
Blue Ridge on the west, the Fluvanna on the south, and the
northern divide of the Rivanna basin on the north. In the
southeastern angle of the county (which in 1777 was set aside
in the county of Fluvanna), was the place called “ Point of
Fork,” an important military station in the Revolution, while
twenty miles above, on the Fluvanna or James, was old Albe-
marle court-house, also a supply station.

Charlottesville in 1776 had only recently become the county
seat. A court-house and a tavern had been built, and in 1779
a group of a dozen houses had grown up about them. A con-
siderable number of families lived in the vicinity, recent arrivals
from tidewater Virginia. These people lived in comfort, though
in great simplicity, upon the vast ])lantations which they owned,
this region being upon the very frontier. Thomas Jefferson’s
father was one of the earlie.st settlers here, and he himself was
perhaps the first white child horn in this region. At the time
of his birth, in 1743, buffalo still abounded in the neighborhood.
Ten years before a buffalo calf had been ca})tured just across the
Blue Ridge and taken as a gift to the governor at Williamsburg.
The Huguenot colonists at Manikintown, fifty miles down the
James,’ ke[)t buffalo in domestication for milk and beef. A trail
frequented by the buffalo herds crossed the Blue Ridge at Rock-
fish gap, twenty-four miles west of Charlottesville, passed the
Shenandoah at a ford near Staunton, and afterward over the
ne.xt range by a passage still known as “ Buffalo Ca]),” into the
l)eautiful valleys, then, as at present, called the “ Cow Pasture ”
and the “Calf Pasture,” doul)tless l)ecause of the presence there
of buffalo herds in the days when they were named.

J'he inhabitants were still collecting bounties in tobacco for
the wolves which they killed with their guns or enticed into pit-
falls. The stream called “ W'olftrap branch,” near (.'harlottes-
ville, preserves by its name the memory of those times. I have

274

ALBEMARLE IN REVOLUTLONARY DAYS

m}^self seen in tliis locality pits jxartially filled up, which Avere
used as wolf traps not half a century ago, and have talked Avith
a man Avhose father had seen great herds of buffalo crossing the
Roanoke river less than a hundred miles southeast of Charlottes-
ville, at a point still called “ Buffalo ford.”

I mention these circumstances simply to give an idea of the
solitude and seclusion of this region at the time of the Revolution.
It Avas because of its very remoteness that Congress decided upon
it, in 1779, as a j)lace for the detention of the jirisoners of Avar
at that time quartered at Cambridge, in IMassachusetts. These
Avere the so-called “Convention troops,” the captive army of
Burgoyne, Avhich had surrendered to Gates at Saratoga, October
12, 1777. This is not the ])lace to discuss Avhat seems to have
been very had faith u[)on the part of our government, Avhich
did not keep its ])ledges, hut retained these cai>tured troops for
four A’ears as })risoners of Avar, notAvithstanding the agreement
made by Gates and confirmed by Congress, that theA" should at
once be sent to England on ])arole.

Tavo years after the Saratoga convention they were still con-
fined in Massachusetts. They Avere marched in the dead of
Avinter 700 miles, from Boston to Charlottesville. The nundier
surrendered at Saratoga Avas 5,791, of Avhom 2,412 Avere Germans
and Hessians. The number brought to Virginia Avas, of course,
someAvhat less, hut how much there is no means of ascertaining.
V'e knoAV, hoAvever, that a year later their numbers had been re-,
duced by death, desertion, and partial exchanges to about 2,100.
They arrived in January at Charlottesville, Avhere little prej>ara-
tion had been made to receive them.

One Avho Avas present at the time has left the folloAving descrip-
tion :

As to the men, the situation Avas truly horrible, after the hard shifts
they had experienced in their march from the Potomack. They Avere, in-
stead of comfortable barracks, conducted intoa Avood,Avhere a feAvloghuts
Avere just begun to be built, the most part not coA'ered over, and all of
them full of siioav ; these the men were obliged to clear out and cover OA'er,
to secure themselves from the inclemency of the Aveather, as quick as they
could, and in the course of t\A'o or three days rendered them a habitable,
but by no means a comfortable retirement. What added greatly to the
distresses of the men Avas the AA-ant of provisions, as none had as yet ar-
rived for the troops, and for six days they subsisted on the meal of Indian
corn made into cakes. The person Avho had the management of every-
thing informed us that Ave Avere not expected till spring. Never Avas a
country so destitute of every comfort ; ])rovisions Avere not to be pur-
chased for tendaA’s; the officers subsisted upon salt pork and Indian

ALBEMARLE LN REVOLUTIONARY DAYS

275

corn made into cakes ; not a drop of any kind of spirit ; what little there
had been was already consumed by the first and second brigades ; many
officers to comfort themselves put red pepper into water to drink by way
of cordial.

On the arrival of the ti’oops at Charlottesville the officers, what with
vexation and to keep out the cold, drank rather freely of an abominable
liquor called peach brandy, which, if drunk to excess, the fumes raise
an absolute delirium, and in their cups sevei'al were guilty of deeds that
would admit of no apolog}". The inhabitants must have actually thought
us mad, for in the course of three or four days there were no less than
six or seven duels fought.

The officers were allotved to go into the surrounding country
in search of c{uarters ; the Englishmen within a fixed circuit
which extended be}mnd Richmond on the east ; the Germans
wdtliin a similar circuit, chiefly within the Shenandoah valley
and including Staunton. Captain Auburey has left a most in-
teresting account of his experiences in his book of travels pub-
lished in London in 1789. In the Memoirs of the Baroness von
Riedesel, wdio was with the German troops, may be found a
narrative which is even more instructive. The barracks -were
about six miles north of Charlottesville, near Ivy creek, on a
plantation now belonging to Mr Carr. Here the troops were de-
tained until November, 1780, when the advance of the British
through the Carolinas rendering their capture ])robable, they Avere
marched northward. The British were moved to Maryland and
thence to Connecticut; the Germans to Winchester, in the Shen-
andoah valley.

Some of the Germans, it is said, Avere quartered upon the
estate of General Daniel Morgan, in Avhat is iioaV Clarke county,
and Avere emplo3'^ed by him to build the great stone mansion,
still standing, Avliich he named “ Saratoga ” in memory of the
place associated Avith his triumpli and their defeat. In 1780 a
considerable number of other prisoners cajAtured at tlie CoAvpens
and in South Carolina Avere also brought to Alhemarle. These
men Avere liberated by the British at the time of Tarleton’s raid.
It is a curious fact that some Avho had married here Avhile in
captivity deserted fnmi the British lines at Yorktown and re-
turned here to live. It is said that some of their descendants
still live in Albemarle. 'I'he position of Albemarle u[)on the
frontier again gave it prondnence in 1781, when the governor
and legislature of \drginia having be<m driven from Bichmond
by the British invasion, (.Charlottesville became the tem[)orary
capital of the state.

276

ALBEMARLE IN REVOLUTIONARY DAYS

It should 1)6 remembered that it was only the closing scenes of
the war Avhicli took place upon the soil of Virginia. For the
first five years all the battles were in the northern colonies. In
1780, however, Charleston, South Carolina, was captured, and
the southern campaign began. The Virginia line was detached
from the army of W^ashington, and with that of North Carolina
went south to oppose the advance of Cornwallis. Other portions
of the Continental Army followed. Notwithstanding the vic-
tories of the Americans at Eutaw Springs, Kings Mountain, and
the Cowpens and the constant check to his progress which Greene
and his militia auxiliaries interposed, Cornwallis (strongly rein-
forced by the tory partisans of Georgia and the Carolinas)
slowly advanced toward Virginia. On INlay 20, 1781, he reached
Petersburg by way of Wilmington. Another army, under Bene-
dict Arnold, had five months before invaded the valley of the
James, which they ascended to Petersburg and Richmond.

Virginia was at this time in a most helpless condition. All
the able-bodied men were in the Continental Army. Tlie militia
were without arms, and Congress seemed unable to respond to
their a[)peals for help. In those days i)utty had not been in-
vented, and the glass in the windows of houses was held together
by lead. So great was the need for bullets that the windows
were destroyed to obtain them. Major John Pryor, commissary,
stationed at Charlottesville, in June, 1778, wrote to Colonel
Davies at Staunton that he had sent “by Expresses to every
ju’obable House within forty miles extent along the Southwest
Mountains to collect what lead can be found in the windows and
elsewhere.”

All southern Virginia was ravaged by a motley horde armed
with torch and sword, who traversed it under the leadership of
Colonel Banastre Tarleton, a dashing officer of dragoons, who
was followed by hundreds of tory partisans from the Carolinas.
So shameless were their depredations that an officer in Corn-
wallis’ army denounced them as a disgrace to civilization. Henry
Clay, at that time a boy four years of age, living near Hanover
courtdiouse, remembered how the troo])ers desecrated the newly
made grave of his father, who had died only a few days l>efore,
piercing it on eveiy side with their sabers in search of hidden
treasure.

The British having found little in the way of booty or re.sist-
ance at Richmond slowly proceeded up tiie James. At the Point
of Fork, already mentioned as being in old Albemarle and 25

ALBEMARLE IN REVOLUTIONARY DA YS

277

miles to the east of Monticello, the Americans liad an important
military depot under the charge of Baron von Steuben, with a
small bod}’- of troops. The British Colonel Simcoe, with his bat-
talion of “ Queen’s Rangers,” was sent to dislodge him, which he
did in a manner at the time not considered creditable to the
American commander.

Cornwallis also in June detached Tarleton with 180 troopers
from his own legion, 70 mounted infantrymen, and a gang of
Carolina tories to go to Charlottesville to capture Governor Jef-
ferson and the legislature. Tarleton selected a secluded route
up the valley of the South Anna by way of Louisa court-house,
and on the morning of June 4, 1781, had approached to within ten
miles of Charlottesville on the east. But for the courage of a man
whose name is still remembered his plan would have been a
perfect success. John Jouett, a scout and partisan, then 23 years
of age, susjDected the designs of the British, cut his wa}^ througli
the front of tlie column, and having a very fleet horse reached
Charlottesville two hours in advance and gave warning to the
legislature, and also got a messenger to Monticello to give warn-
ing to Mr .Jefferson and to several members of the legislature
who were residing at his house. This man was the grandfather
of a citizen of Washington whom many of us personally know,
Rear-Admiral James E. Jouett of the Navy.

The legislature adjourned with astonishing rai)idit}'’ to Staun-
ton, on the other side of the Blue Ridge, and only seven were
captured. Shortly afterward they were again stampeded, and
took to the mountains still farther west. The cause of their
flight was somewhat curious. A company of Virginia troops
marching northward approached Staunton, the colors flying and
drums beating. J'he peo|>le of this region had never before seen
soldiers in uniform and knew only the buckskin-clad rangers of
their own region. The country people supi)Osed the advancing
column to be that of Cornwallis and gave a false alarm. When
Tarleton’s white-coated troo|>ers reached the crest of Monticello,
Governor Jefferson was not there; he was safe in the woods on
Carter’s mountain, the elevation ne.xtto Monticelloon thesouth,
and his family were at Enniscorthy, Colonel Carter’s plantation,
al)out six miles away.

Visitors to .Monticello are often told that Mr Jefferson made
his escape from the house by a sort of passage which connected
it with outbuildings. In this stoiw there is no truth. 'I'lie cir-
cumstances of his (light are well remembered by his descendants,

278

ALBEMARLE LX REVOLUTLOXARY DAYS

and there is an interesting memorandum in Mr Jefferson’s own
handwriting in the possession of his grandson, Dr W. C. N.
Kandolph, of Charlottesville. Jouett’s first messenger arrived
at Monticello at sunrise. Governor Jefferson and the members
of tlie legislature who were with him quietly took breakfast,
after which his guests departed for Charlottesville, and he, after
ordering some servants to hide the household silver under the
floor of the front porch, occupied himself in packing up his
l>apers. About two hours after another messenger, a i\Ir Hudson,
rode up to tell him that the British were about to ascend the
mountain. He at once sent his family to Enniscorthy and
ordered his saddle-horse, which was being newly shod at the
l>lacksmith’s shop on the plantation. Carrying his papers, sword,
and field-glass, he made his wa}' to a place on Carter’s mountain,
whence he could see Charlottesville and the surrounding coun-
try. After awhile, not being able to see any troops, he started
back home, but finding that he had left his sword returned to
get it. Looking again, he saw a large detachment of dragoons
in the streets of Charlottesville, and then mounted his horse and
])roceeded to Enniscorthy. In the meantime a detachment of
troo{)S under the command of Captain MacLeod had ascended
the mountain from the opposite side and were searching for him
at Monticello; but for the loss of his sword he would doubtless
nave returned home and been captured. When the troops
reached the house, the two negroes, INIartin and Cajsar, were still
packing away the valuables under the porch through an opening ,
made by lifting some of the ])lanks in the floor. When the sol-
diers came up, the ))lanks were replaced, and one of the negroes
was im]>risoned for eighteen hours. It was afterward ascertained
that Colonel Tarleton had given positive orders to have tlie gov-
ernor captured, if possible, but that none of his property should
be destroyed, and this order was strictly carried out.

After laying waste the surrounding region, Tarleton rejoined
Cornwallis, who had now encamped upon a plantation called
“ Elk Hill,” just below the Point of Fork, which belonged to
Mr Jefferson. General Lafayette was at this time assembling
his forces in the vicinity of Culi)eper court-house, about fifty
miles to tbe northward. He was reinforced by Wa3nie’s army at
Raccoon ford, on the Rapid Anne, very near to Cedar mountain.
He traversed Louisa, the next county to the northeast of us,
crossed the Xortli Anna at Brock’s l)ridge, opened a road through
the woods, still known as the Marquis road, and passed on in

ALBEMARLE LN REVOLUTIONARY DAYS

279

rapid pursuit of Cornwallis, who had begun his retreat down tiie
James. The boy-general soon drove his adversary to the end of
the Yorktown peninsula, where Cornwallis hoped to get helj)
from the British fleet. What happened there between tlie 30th
of July and the 9th of October it is needless for me to relate.

Before closing, I must refer to some of tlie historic personages
whose lives were passed in the region which surrounds us. It
is to be regretted that Monticello is hut a “ little mountain ” in
fact as well as in name. If it were 1,500 feet higlier and we were
all provided with telescopes I could show you many things of
interest.

Here and there along the banks of the James I might point
out the homes of six of the seven Virginians who signed the
Declaration of independence. We might see the old court-
house in Hanover, twenty miles to the east, where Patrick Heniy,
pleading in tlie famous Parsons cause in 1763, declared that the
hurge.sses in Virginia were the only authority who could give
force to the laws for the government of the colony. I could
show }mu still closer, in Louisa, the home of Dabney Carr, who
proposed in the House of Burgesses, in 1773, the plan for com-
mittees of correspondence (to be organized for mutual ]>rotec-
tion in tbe several colonies), which were so useful in the earliest
days of the Revolution. We could also see old St. John’s church
in Richmond, where, in 1775, at the meeting of the House of
Burgesses, Heniy defied the British crown, ciying, ‘‘ Give me
libert}’’ or give me death,” and the spot where he died, at “ Red
Hill,” just beyond Willis mountain, to the southeast. We could
see what we have already seen once toda}'’ fifty miles to the north-
ward, the region of Culpeper, whence the Minutemen marched
in 1775 with their rattlesnake flag and the motto “ Liberty or
Death ” upon their hunting shirts, to the defeat of Lord Dun-
more at Great bridge, with John Marshall, afterward Chief Justice
of the United States, in their ranks. In this quarter we could
also see tbe ancestral home of ^ladison, the cham|)ion of tbe
Constitution. Looking to the northwest, beyond tbe Blue Ridge,
we might see the region of the lower Shenandoah, wbencc
marched two regiments of buckskin-clad riflemen to Poston at
the alarm of Lexington, and the passes tbrougb which Wash-
ington journeyed in bis early expedition to tbe westward. Over
the Blue Ridge, not many miles away, we might s<‘ek out tbe
birthplace of General Arthur Campbell, the hero ol' Kings Moun-
tain, and that of John Sevier, the founder of the state of Frank-

280

ALBEMARLE IN REVOLUTIONARY DAYS

lin, afterward Tennessee, the first commonwealth beyond the
Alleghanies, and also the spot where Abram Linkhorn, grand-
father of the President, married, lived, and was captain of a
company of militia organized in 1776 for the defence of the
western frontier. Still nearer, almost at the base of Monticello,
the birthplace of General George Rogers Clarke, who by his vic-
tory over the British and Indians at Fort Vincennes in 1781
saved the northwest to the United States, a man the value of
whose services to the nation at this time were second only to
those of Washington, and away to the southward the spot where
General Thomas Sumter was born. Our eyes, still turned to the
west, would traverse the great frontier county of Augusta, whose
western boundary extended, in accordance with the charter of
1609, to the Pacific, and whose actual limits, at that time undis-
puted, were upon the shores of the ]\Iississip})i.

After the surrender of Cornwallis, in this region were centered
in large degree the future destinies of America. “ The American
states,” writes Cooke, “ were now either to set up as separate
nations or to enter into a durable union; and the latter policy
was strongl}^ urged by Virginia. It is necessary to state this
fact; the “ states-right ” record of the commonwealth has pro-
duced the impression that the sentiment of union was not strong
in the people. The contrary is the fact. From the first the
Virginians were the foremost advocates of union and made every
sacrifice to effect it.

“ To bring it about, Virginia began by surrendering a princi-
])ality. The entii’e region beyond the Ohio, now the States of
Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, was a part of her domain under her
charter. Her right to it rested upon as firm a basis as the right
of any other commonwealth to her own domain, and if there
was any question of the Virginia title by charter she could assert
her right b}’- conquest. The region had been wrested from the
British by a Virginian commanding Virginian troops ; the people
had taken ‘the oath of allegiance to the commonwealth of Vir-
ginia,’ and her title to the entire territory was thus indisputable.
The country north of the Ohio river was a part of Virginia under
her original charter, remained a portion other domain when in
ISIay, 1776, she declared herself an independent commonwealth
before there was any union, and she herself succeeded to all the
rights of the crown.

“ I'hese rights she now abandoned, and her action Avas the re-
sult of an enlarged patriotism and devotion to the cause of

GEOGRAPHIC NOTES

281

union. The articles of confederation had not been adopted by
all the colonies; some of them still held back. They were un-
willing to recognize the Virginia title, but would ‘accede to tlie
confederation provided Congress would fix the western limits of
the slates claiming to extend to the Mississippi or the South sea.’’ The
issue was thus distinctl 3^ presented, the surrender of the territoiy
and union, or its retention and disunion. Virginia decided for
union, and (Januaiy, 1781) agreed to cede the country to the
Federal Government. In 1783 Congress accepted her terms, and
in 1787 passed an ordinance for the government of the territoiy.”
Nothing now remained to complete the activities of this period
of the Revolution but the adoption of the Constitution and the
election of Washington to the i3residential chair.

GEOGRAPHIC NOTES

NORTH AMERICA

Canada. At tlie annual meeting of the Hudson’s Bay Compan}'^, held
recently in London, it was stated that the surveys of the public lands in
the northwest having been extended to the Rocky mountains it had be-
come necessary to define tlie western boundary of the lands of the Hud-
son’s Bay Company. The Dominion government had contended that the
line !-hould be placed at the limit of cultivable and grazing lands, Avhich
meant the base of the Rocky mountains. The government had, how-
ever, finally accepted the contention of the company that the latter’s
one-twentieth share of the lands available for settlement extends to the
summit of the mountains.

Dr Robert Bell, of the Canadian Geological Survey, with Mr R. AY.
Brock and a small party of boatmen, has renewed his explorations to the
eastward of .James bay. Instead of following his route of 1895 by Gati-
neau river, he journeys this summer via Keepawa and Graml lakes,
whence he crosses the divide into the watershed of the Noddawai river,
which he intends to explore geologically, giving especial attention to the
valley of Bell river. Dr Bell’s exi»lorations in ISil.o jiroved that the main
source of the Noddawai, which drains some fi0,00() square miles to the
southeast of .lames bajq is Mattagami lake, fed by two large streams, the
Bell and W’asawampi. TIk; Wasawampi, which enters the east end of the
take, is interrupted about (iO miles to the southeast by its enlargement
into the lake of the same name, where it receives its most important
tributary, called the O’.Siillivan, from its original explorer in bSi)4. The
most important feeder of Mattagami lake. Bell river, at its western ex-
tremity, was discovered in bSi).: by Dr Bell. It is in the main a broad
stream, from 20 to 40 feet deep, navigable long distances by steamboats.
Bell reports that the waterslie<l of this river has extensive regions suitable
forgrain raising, dairy farming, lumbering, and stock growing, and he bo-

282

GEOGRAPHIC NOTES

lieves tliat it will eventually be made accessible by railway and occupied
by a large white population.

EUROPK.

Gkrm.\xy. During May 1,360 ships, aggregating 139,787 tons, passed
through the Baltic canal, the tolls amounting to 78,206 marks. Both the
traffic and the receipts continue to fall far short of original e.xpectations.

SwiTZERn.Axr). Tlie foreign trade of Switzerland in 1895 showed a con-
siderable increase upon that of the preceding j'ear, the imports increasing
from $165,000,000 to $183,000,000 and the exports from $124,000,000 to
$132,500,000, in round numbers. The exports to the United States showed
a large increase.

KrssiA. The annual fair at Nijni Nov’gorod has been opened this j’ear
at an earlier date than usual, in order to secure visits from the foreigners
who attended the czar’s coronation at ^loscow. The exhibition covers
over 200 acres, and while still possessing those unique features which
have made this great Russian fair so famous, it is this year demonstrating
in a most striking manner the enormous strides the various mechanical
industries are making in the Russian empire.

United Kingdom. During the year ending .July 1, 1896, 23,695 vessels
l>aid harbor dues at the port of Liverpool. While the number was 248
fewer than in the preceding year, the aggregate tonnage (11,046,459)
showed an increase of 269,313.

The total output of coal in the United Kingdom in 1895 has just been
officially announced as 189,661,362 tons, which exceeds by 1,383,837 tons
the output of 1S94, the highest previous record. The total recorded out-
jnit of minerals was 201,738,.351 tons, an increase of 2,287,000 tons over
the previous year. The number of mines worked was 3,512 and the
number of persons employed therein 700,284. The number of quarries
worked was 8,062, the i>roduct, mostly stone, amounting to 29,813,734
tons. The number of employes in tliis branch of industry was 104,625,
and the total number of persons employed in the entire mineral industry
838,282.

ASIA

China. Russia is stated by the St. Petersburg NovoMi to have obtained
absolute freedom of trade in northern China.

Tonkin. Official notice is given that the English commissioner has
handed over to the French authorities the district of Mongsin with the
de])endent territories as being on the left bank of the Mekong.

Burma. A preliminary survey has been made for a railway from the
5Iu valley line to the Chindwin river, a distance of 70 miles. The route
presents no serious engineering difficulties and the country to be traversed
is densely poi)ulated.

Afghanistan. The Amir has issued orders that none of his subjects
sliall lie allowed to keep Kafirs as slaves, and strictly forbidding all .slave
dealing. The Kafirs, moreover, are not to be compelled to become Mo-
hammedans against their will.

GEOGRA PHIC NO TES— MISCELLANEA

283

India. The first consignment of Kashmir silk was recently sold in
London. Kashmir possesses excellent water power, and attention is be-
ing called to the inducements it offers for the employment of capital.

The Nizam of Haidarabad, one of the feudatory princes of India, has
recently consented to the acquisition of land in his dominions by Euro-
peans. It is expected that cotton factories and other industrial enter-
prises will soon be established in the state.

Japan. A treaty of commerce has been concluded between Japan
and Belgium.

The fisliing industr}'^ of Japan is rajiidly acquiring great importance.
Last year Japanese fishermen caught on the Siberian coasts 600,000 salmon
and 160,000 salmon trout. In the i.sland of Saghalien the Japanese have
leased 84 stations ; 71 vessels were employed last year, and the catch tvas
valued at $330,000. From the same island no less than 10,000 tons of
edible seaweed were sent to China in 1894.

Ti’kke.stan. It is announced that a railway will be built as soon as
possible from Tashkend to Orenburg, with the object of connecting the
Trans-Caspian and Samarcand line with that of Siberia.

AFRICA

Natal. The 400th anniversary of the discovery of Natal will occur in
1897, and it is proposed to celebrate the occasion by an exhibition.

Grange Free State. To the development of the gold mines of this
state is mainly due the increase in the net profits of the Orange Free State
railway from £1,653 in 1891 to £523,926 in 1895.

Sierra Leone. The work of the Anglo-French Boundary Commission
of the Sierra Leone and French Guinea frontier establishes as British
territory a large extent of country and a number of populous towns which
have hitherto been regarded as French. The British will also now occui)y
the exten.sive hinterland of Sierra Leone. Except on the coast, the cli-
mate of this region is said to be comparatively healthy, and the country
is capable of producing rice, cotton, and tobacco in large quantities. There
is also a considerable trade in ivory and rubber. The construction of
roads to the interior will be commenced at once.

AU.STRALA8IA

Western Au.stralia. Since the beginning of 1894 the population of
Western Australia has more than doubled. The e.xtensive railway .system
now adopted, together with the harbor works in progress at Fremantle
anrl other points on the coast, will facilitate and j)robably greatly ex|)and
the export of lumber, the 8Ui)j)ly of which is jiractically inexhaustible
and the quality excellent.

MISCELLANEA

In connection with the recent loss of the Unimnwnd OikIIi' oil cape
Finisterre, attention has been called to tin* statement of the lati? I’rofessor
Tyndall that the ehctric light is not good for lighthouse purisises. 4'here

284

MISCELLANEA

seems to be no satisfactory explanation of the fact that the powerful
Ushant light was not visible at the time of the recent disaster.

Henry Gannett, Chief Geographer of the Geological Survey, Geographer
of two censuses. President of the Board of Geographic Names, and author
of several standard works, is a leading geographer of America. Born
August 24, 184(5, he this month rounds out a half-century of fruitful life.

A recent brochure of the “ Bulletin, Department of Geology, University
of California,” is a description of tlie Great Valley of California, with a
criticism of the theory of isostasy, by F. Leslie Ransome. As indicated
by the initial paragraph, the memoir is primarily a critical discussion of
tlie well-known geologic doctrine enunciated by Dutton — the doctrine that
the earth-crust is in a state analogous to that of hydrostatic equilibrium,
and that it is warped or deformed by transfer of load through the action
of streams, as, for example, from the Rocky mountains into the gulf of
Mexico. The author opposes this doctrine and appeals to the facts of the
Californian valley for support. The memoir is scholarly and the critical
remarks are gratifyingly courteous, and it is notable as a careful review'
of the literature pertaining to isostasy. No geographer concerned with
the study of the greater terrestrial movements can fail to find it of use.
The memoir forms pages 371-428 of volume I of a highly creditable
series of publications emanating from the University of California “at
irregular intervals in the form of separate papers * * * which embody
the results of research by some competent investigator.” Several of these
memoii's, especially those by Professor Andrew' C. Lawson, are note-
worthy contributions to scientific geography.

In his letter to the National Geographic Society on the occasion of its
recent field meeting at Charlottesville, Va., Dr W. C. N. Randolph, of the
University of Virginia, called attention to the extraordinary productive-
ness of that region in resi)ect of illustrious men. “Across the river in
front of us,” he said. “Jetterson was born ; around its turn is the birth-
l)lace of General Rogers Clarke, who, through Virginia, gave to the Great
Republic the Northwest. Over there, a short mile and a half away,
lived Monroe; a mile west of the city lived William Wirt, the famous
lawyer, oiator, and author, while seven miles further w'est Meriw'ether
Lewis, of the Lewis and Clarke e.xpedition, was born. Down these “ little
mountains,” as the old people love to call them, w’as born the game-cock
of the Carolinas, General Sumter; further on dwelt James Madison and
Zachary Taylor, the latter the hero of Ihiena Vista, and both of them
Presidents of the United States. In the same county were born the Bar-
bours, one of them one of the most honored of our representatives at the
Court of St. James, the other a distinguished member of the Supreme
Bench. FurtheH' on, in Fauquier county, was born John Marshall, the
greatest of our Chief Justices. He took the frazelled threads of American
jurisprudence and twisted them into a rope .so strong that it has never
been broken, so flexible that it has never been oppressive, so sound that
at the end of nearly a hundred years it shows no evidence of deca\'.”
He thought he might be pardoned if he requested that, in making up
the li.st of i)roducts of the beautiful Piedmont plateau, account might be
taken of the many illustrious men to whom it has given birth.

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The National Geographic Magazine,

NOW PUBLISHED MONTHLY,

numbers among its contributors the follo^Ying well-known writers on the different

branches of geographic science:

Mr. Cyrus C. Adams, New York.

Dr. Cyrus Adler, Smith.soiiiau Institution.

i\Ir. Marcus Baker, U. S. Geological Survey,

Capt. John R. Bartlett, U. S. N.

Dr. Francis Brown, Union Theol. Seminary.

Hon. Jefferson B. Browne, Collector of Cus-
toms at Key West.

Dr. E. L. Cortliell, C. E., New York.

Dr. Elliott Coues.

Hon. William E. Curtis, ex-Director of the
Bureau of the .\nierican Republics.

IMr. Frank Hamilton Cushing, Bureau of
American Ethnology.

Dr. Charles W. Dabney, Jr., .•Assistant Secre-
tary ot Agriculture.

Dr. Wm. H. Dali, Smithsonian In.stitution.

Dr. George Davidson, President of the Geo-
graphical Society of the Pacific.

Mr. Arthur P. Davis, U. S. Geological Surve}'.

^Ir. Wm. M. Davis, Professor of Ph}’sical Geog-
raphy in Harvard University.

Dr. David T. Daj', Chief of the Div. of Mining
Statistics and Technology, U. S. Geol. Sur

Mr. J. S. Diller, U. S. Geological Survey.

Hon. John W. F'oster, ex-Secretary of State.

Mr. Henry Gannett, Chief Geographer, U. S.
Geological .Survey and nth Census.

lUr. G. K. Gilbert, U. S. Geological Surve3^

Gen. A. W. Greely, U. S. A., Chief Signal
Officer, War Department.

Hon. Gardiner G. Hubbard, President of the
National Geographic Society.

Dr Mark W. Harrington, President of the Uni-
versity of the State of Washington.

Uieut. Everett Hayden, U. S. N., Secretarj^ of
the National Geographic Society.

Mr. Robert T. Hill, U. S. Geological Survey.

Mr. Wm. H. Holmes. Dir. of the Dept, of An-
thropology, Field Colum. Museum, Chicago.

Dr. Emil Holub, Vienna, Austria.

Dr. .Sheldon Jackson, U. S. Commissioner of
E<Lucation for Alaska.

Mr. Willard D. Johnson, U. S. Geol. Survey.

Mr. Mark B. Kerr, C. E.

Mr. George Kennan.

Prof. William Uibbey, Jr., Princeton Coll., N. J.

Prof. E. McClure, University of Oregon.

Prof. W J McGee, Bureau of American Eth-
nology.

Mr. John E. McGrath, U. S. Coast Surve}'’.

Admiral R. W. Meade, U. S. N.

Dr. T. C. Mendenhall, President of the Poly-
technic Institute, Worcester, Mass.

Dr. C. Hart Merriam, Ornithologist and Mam-
malogist, U. S. Department of Agriculture.

Hon. John H. Mitchell, U. S. S.

Prof. W. L- Moore, Chief of Weather Bureau.

Mr. Frederick H. Newell, Chief Hj’drographer
of the U. S. Geological Survey.

Mr. Herbert G. Ogden, U. S. Coast Survey.

Lieut. Roljert E. Peary, U. S. N.

Mrs. Robert E. Peary.

Hon. Geo. C. Perkins, U. S. >S-

Mr. William PI. Pickering, Professor of Astron-
omj’ in Plarvard University.

Major John W. Powell, Director of the Bureau
of American Ethnolog^^

Prof. W. H. Powell, Superintendent of Schools,
District of Columbia.

Hon. John R. Procter, President of the U. S.
Civil Service Commission.

Mr. Israel C. Russell, Profe.s.sor of Geology in
the Univer.sit}' of Michigan.

Dr. N. S. Shaler, Professor of Geology in Har-
vard Universit)'.

Commander Charles D. Sigsbee, Hydrograplier
to the Bureau of Navigation, Nav}' Dept.

Mi.ss Eliza Ruhaniah Scidmore.

Commander Z. L. Tanner, U. ,S. N.

Mr. P'rank Vincent, New York.

Hon. Charles D. Walcott, Director of the U.S.
Geological Survey'.

Mrs. Fannie B. Ward.

Mr. Bailey Willis, U. S. Geological Survey.

PRINCIPAL CONTENTS OF RECENT NUMBERS.

JANUARY. — Ru.ssia in Europe, with map, Hon. Gardiner G. Hubbard ; The .Arctic Cruise
of the U. S. Revenue Cutter “Bear,” with illustrations. Dr. Sheldon Jack.son ; The
Scope and Value of Arctic Exploration, Gen. A. W. Greely, U. ,S. A.

FEBRUARY. — Venezuela: Her Gf>vernment, People, and Houndar^-, with maj) and illustra-
tions, William IC. Curtis ; The Panama Canal Route, with illustrations, Pn>f. Robert T.
Hill ; The Tehuantej)ec Ship Railwaj’, with maps, E. L. Cortliell, C. E.. LL. D. ; The
Present State of the Nicaragua Canal, Gen. W. Greelv : Exjilorations by the Bureau
of American Ethnologv-, W J McGee, ina/> of Hie Orinoco vaU'-" 'HuKv'iiff territory

drained by that xvalcrway and its bearing .on the I’eneziielan Hoiindai '’>es/ion.

MARCH. — The So-Calletl “Jeannette Relics,” Prof. Wm. II. Dali ; Nauseii ■ ar Expedi-
tion, Gen. W. Greely; The Submarine Cables of the World, Gusuue 11 -rrle ; The
Surve)’ and Subdivision of Indian Territory, with map and illustraliou, lUmry Gannett ;
“Free Burghs” in the United States, James II. Blodgett, .llso chart, fg .v j;o inches,
showing Submarine Telegraph Cables of' the World and Principal t.anit Lines. P'utt-
page portraits of Dr. Nansen and Trof. Win. II. Datt.

APRIL. — Seriland, with map and illu.stration, W J McGee and Willard I). Johnson; The
Olympic Country, with map. the late S. C. Gilman ; The Discovery of Glacier Bay,
Alaska, liliza Ruhamah Scidmore ; Hydrography in the United .States, h'rederick II.
Newell ; Recent Triangulation in the Ca.scades, S. S. Gannett ; The Altitmle of Ml.
Adams, Washington, Edgar McClure.

may. — .Africa since r88.S, with special reference to South Africa and .Al)yssiiiia, with ma]),
Hon. (rardinerG. Hubbanl ; Fundamental Geograjihic Relation of the Three .Americas,
with map. Prof. Robert T. Hill ; The Kansas River, .Arthur P. Davis. . Itso portrait of
Hon. Gardiner G. Hubbard, IVesident of ■ the National Geographic .Society.

25 Cents per Number or $2.50 per Year.

THE SEPTEMBER NUMBER

Ti NATli'AL GEIIGIUPHIC mkWl

will contain an illustrated article on the

RECENT EARTHQUAKE WAVE

ON THE COAST OF JAPAN,

By miss ELIZA RUHAMAH SCIDMORE,

who was near the scene of the catastrophe at the time of its

occurrence ;

ALSO

SPANISH TOPOGRAPHIC TERMS: THEIR
FULLNESS AND PRECISION

(As illustrated in Arid America),

Bv PROFESSOR ROBERT T. HILL,

Of the U. S. Geological Survey ;

AND . THE

WEATHER BUREAU

RIVER AND FLOOD SYSTEM,

By professor WILLIS L. MOORE,

Chief of the Weaiher Bureau.

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yol. V 11

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The

National Geographic

Magazine

ELIZA RtJHAMAH SCIDMORE

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290

291

With map and illustrations.

THE RETURN OP DR NANSEN

DESCRIPTIVE TOPOGRAPHIC TERMS OF SPANISH AMERICA.

ROBERT T HILL

THE WEA.THER BUREAU RIVER AND FLOOD SYSTEM.

WILLtS L. MOORE

CHARLES FRANCIS HALL AND JONES SOUND.

MINERAL PRODUCTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES.

REPORTS OP SEALING SCHOONERS FROM TUSCARORA DEEP.

ELIZA RUHAMAH SCIDMORE
Geographic Notes, p. 312; The American Association, p 315; Death of G. Brown
Goode, p. 316

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THE

National Geographic Society

ORGANIZED, JANUARY, 1888

President

GARDINER G. HUBBARD

MARCUS BAKER

william; h. dall

G. K. GILBERT

Vice-Presidents

A. W. GREELY
C. HART MERRIAM
HERBERT G. OGDEN

Treasurer
CHARLES J. BELL

Recording Secretary Corresponding Secretary

EVERETT HAYDEN HENRY GANNETT

Managers

H. F. BLOUNT
C. W. DABNEY, Jr.

DAVID T. DAY
JOHN HYDE

W J McGEE
F. H. NEWELL
W. B. POWELL
J. B. WIGHT

THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE
Back Numbers wanted by the Society.

For the purpose of making up complete sets of the Magazine,
the National Geographic Society is prepared to purchase at rea-
sonable prices the following back numbers :

Of Vol. I, 1889, numbers 2 and 4; of Vol. II, 1890, num-
bers 2 and 3 ; of Vol. IV, 1892, numbers 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

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of any of these numbers are invited to sell or present them to the
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Address: EVERETT HAYDEN, Secretary,

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NAT. GEOG. MAG.

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NAT. GEOG. MAG.

THE

National Geographic Magazine

VoL. VII SEPTEMBER, 1896 No. 9

THE RECENT EARTHQUAKE WAVE ON THE COAST

OF JAPAN

By Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore

On the evening of June 15, 1896, the northeast coast of Hondo,
the main island of Japan, was struck by a great earthquake ivave
{tsunami), wliich was more destructive of life and property than
any earthquake convulsion of this century in that empire. The
whole coastline of the San-Riku, the three provinces of Rikuzen,
Rikuchu, and Rikuoku, from the island of Kinkwazan, 38° 20'
north, northward for 175 miles, was laid waste by a great wave
moving from the east and south, that varied in recorded height
from 10 to 50 feet. A few survivors, who saw it advancing in the
darkness, report its height as 80 to 100 feet. With a difference
of but thirty minutes in time between the southern and northern
points, it struck the San-Riku coast and in a trice obliterated
towns and villages, killed 26,975 people out of the original popu-
lation, and grievously wounded the 5,390 survivors. It washed
away and wreckefl 9,313 houses, stranded some 300 lai’ger craft —
steamers, schooners, and junks — ami crushed or carried away
10,000 fishing boats, destroying property to the value of six mil-
lion yen. Thousands of acres of arable land were turned to
wastes, projecting rocks offshore were broken, overturned, or
moved hundreds of }airds, shallows and bars were formed, and in
some localities the entire shoreline was changed.

They were all seafaring communities along this coast strip
and the fisheries were the chief industry. J'he shipment of sea
j)roducts to the great ports was the main connection with the
outer world. A high mountain range bars communication with

286 RECENT EARTHQUAKE WAVE ON COAST OF JAPAN

the trunk railway line of the island, and this picturesque, fiord-
cut coast is so remote and so isolated that only two foreigners
had been seen in the region in ten years, with the exception of
the French mission priest, Father Raspail, who lost his life in
the flood. With telegraph offices, instruments, and operators
carried away, word came slowly to Tokjm, and with 50 to 100
miles of mountain roads between the nearest railwa}' station and
the seacoast aid was long in reaching the wretched survivors.
When adequate idea of the calamity reached the capital and the
cities, men-of-war, soldiers, sappers, surgeons, and nurses were
quickly dispatched, and public s^uupathy found expression in
contributions through the different newspapers, amounting to
more than 250,000 yen, for the relief of the injured. The Japanese
journalist and photographer were quickly on their way, and the
vernacular press soon fed the public full of horrors, }'et the first
to reach the scene of the disaster was an American missionary,
the Rev. Rothesay Miller, who made the usual three days’ trip
over the mountains in less than a day and a half on his Ameri-
can bicycle.

There were old traditions of such earthquake waves on this
coast, one of two centuries ago doing some damage, and a tsunami
of fort}’^ years ago and a lesser one of 1892 flooding the streets of
Kamaishi and driving })eople to upper floors and the roofs of
their houses. The barometer gave no warning, no indication
of any unusual conditions on June 15, and the occurrence of
thirteen light earthquake shocks during the day excited no com-
ment. Rain had fallen in the morning and afternoon, and with
a temperature of 80® to 90° the damp atmosphere was very op-
pressive. The villagers on that remote coast adhered to the old
calendar in observing their local fetes and holidays, and on that
fifth day of the fifth moon had been celebrating the Girls’ Festival.
Rain had driven them indoors with the darkness, and nearly
all were in their houses at eight o'clock, when, with a rumbling
as of heavy cannonading out at sea, a roar, and the crash and
crackling of timbers, they were suddenl}'^ engulfed in the swirl-
ing waters. Only a few survivors on all that length of coast saw
the advancing wave, one of them telling that the water first re-
ceded some 600 yards from ghastly white sands and then the
Wave stood like a black wall 80 feet in height, with phosphor-
escent lights gleaming along its crest. Others, hearing a distant
roar, saw a dark shadow seaward and ran to high ground, cry-
ing “Tkunaiju tsunami!^' Some who ran to the upper stories

NAT. GEOG. MAG.

VOL. VII. 1896. PL. XXXII

SCENES ON THE COAST AT KAMAISHI, JAPAN. JUNE 15, 1896

RECENT EARTHQUAKE WAVE ON COAST OF JAPAN 287

of their houses for safety were drowned, crushed, or imprisoned
there, only a few breaking through the roofs or escaping after
the water subsided.

Shallow water and outl}dng islands broke the force of the
wave in some places, and in long, narrow inlets or fiords the
giant roller was broken into two, three, and even six waves, that
crashed upon the shore in succession. Ships and junks were car-
ried one and two miles inland, left on hilltops, treetops, and in
the midst of fields uninjured or mixed up with the ruins of
houses, the rest engulfed or swept seaward. Where the wave
entered a fiord or bay it bore everything along to the head of the
ravine or valley and left the mass of debris in a heap at the end.
Where the coast was low and faced the open ocean the wave
washed in and, retreating, carried everything back with it. Many
survivors, swept away by the waters, were cast ashore on out-
hung islands, or seized bits of wreckage and kept afloat. On the
open coast the wave came and withdrew within five minutes,
while in long inlets the waters boiled and surged for nearly a
half hour before subsiding. The best swimmers were helpless
in the first swirl of water, and nearl}^ all the bodies recovered
were frightfull}’- battered and mutilated, rolled over and driven
against rocks, struck b}^ and crushed between timbers. The force
of the wave cut down groves of large pine trees to short stumps,
snap|)ed thick granite posts of temple gates and carried the stone
cross-beams 300 yards away. Many jjeople were lost through
running back to save others or to save their valuables.

One loyal schoolmaster carried the emperor’s i)ortrait to a place
of safety l)efore seeking out his own family. A half-demented
soldier, retired since the late war and continuall}^ brooding on
a possible attack l)v the enemy, became convinced that the first
cannonading sound was from a hostile fleet, and, seizing his
sword, ran down to the beach to meet the foe. One village officer,
mistaking the sound of crashing timl)ers for crackling flames, ran
to high ground to see where the (ire was, and thus saved his life.
Another village officer, living on the edge of a hill, heard the
crash and slid bis screens open to look upon foaming waters
nearly level with bis veranda. In a moment the waters dis-
appeared, leaving a black, cm jjty level where the populous village
had been a few minutes before. Four women clung to one man,
seeking to escape to liigli ground, and their combined weight
resisting the force of the receding wave tlie_y were all saved. Tlie
only survivors of another village were eight men who had been

288 RECENT EARTHQUAKE WAVE ON COAST OF JAPAN

j)laying the game of “ go ” in a hillside temple. Eight children
floated away and left on high gi’ound were believed to be the
only survivors of one village, until one hundred people were
found who had been borne across and stranded on the opposite
shores of their bay. One hundred and fifty people were found
cast away on one island oftshore. From two large villages on one
hay only thirty 3'oung men survived, hard^'-, muscular young
fishermen and powerful swimmers, yet in other places the strong-
est perished, and the aged and infirm, crij)ples, and tin}^ children
were miraculousU’^ ])reserved. The wave flooded the cells of
Okachi prison and the jailers broke the bolts and let the 195
convicts free. Onlv two convicts attempted to escape, the others
waiting in good order until marched to the high ground b}”^ their
keepers. The good Pere Rasi)ail had just reached Kamaishi
from Ids all-day walk of 50 miles over tlie mountains and en-
tered his inn, when his assistant called to him from the street.
The ])riest came to the veranda, but in an instant the water
was upon him. He was seen later, swimming, but evidently
was struck by timbers or swej)t out to sea, as his body has not
been recovered. Ja])anese men-of-war cruised for a week off
Kamaishi, recovering bodies daily. The Japanese system of
census enumeration is so complete and minute that the name of
every person who lost his life was soon known, and the Official
Gazette was able to state that out of a population of 6,529 at
Kamaishi 4,985 were lost and 500 injured, while 953 dwellings
and 867 warehouses and other structures were destroyed or car-
ried away, and 176 ships carried inland or swept out and lost.

The survivors were so stunned with the appalling disaster that
few could do anything for themselves or others. With houses,
nets, and fishing-boats carried away and the fish retreating to
further and deeper waters, starvation faced them, and, the great
heat continuing while so many bodies were strewn along shore
and imprisoned in ruins, the atmosphere fast became poisonous.
The north-coast peojde are o))posed to cremation and insisted
on earth burial, which dela}'ed the disposal of the dead and aug-
mented the danger of pestilence. Disinfectants were sent in
quantity, and the work of recoverv and burial was so pressing
that soldiers were put to it after all available coolies had been
impressed. The Red Cross Society, with its hospitals and nurses,
had difficulty in caring for all the wounded, the greater number
of whom, besides requiring surgical aid, were suffering from
pneumonia and internal inflammations consequent upon their

SCENE ON THE COAST OF THE ISLAND OF HONDO, JAPAN, AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE WAVE OF JUNE 15, 1896

VOL. VII, 1896, PL. XXXIII

RECENT EARTHQUAKE WAVE ON COAST OF JAPAN 289

long exposure in wet clothing without shelter and from the brine,
fish oil, and sand breathed in and swallowed while in the first
tumult of waters. Besides the generous relief fund subscribed
by the people, the government has made large assignments from
its available funds and sent stores of provisions, clothing, tools,
etc., to the 60,000 homeless, ruined, bereaved, and starving people
of tlie San-Riku coast.

The wave was plainly felt two hours later on the shores of the
island of Yesso, 200 miles north of the center of disturbance on
the San-Riku coast, the water advancing 80 feet beyond high-tide
mark on the beach at Hakodate. Eight hours later there was a
great disturbance of the waters on the shores of the Bonin islands,
more than 700 miles southward, the water rising three or four
feet and retreating violently. Six hours later, on the shores of
Kaui, the most northern of the Hawaiian islands, distant 3,390
miles, the waters receded violently and washed on shore in a
wave some inches above the normal height.

The plainest inference has been that the great wave was the
result of an eruption, explosion, or other disturbance in the bed
of tbe sea, 500 or 600 miles off the San-Riku coast. The most
]3opular theory is that it resulted from the caving-in of some part
of the wall or bed of the great “ Tuscarora Deep,” one of the
greatest depressions of the ocean bed in tbe world, discovered in
1874 by the present Rear-Admiral Belknap, U. S. N., while in
command of the U. S. S. Tuscarora, engaged in deep-sea surveys.

The “ Tuscarora Deep ” is nearly five and one-third statute
miles in depth, being exceeded, so far as known, onl}’’ b}^ the still
more profound de[)ths discovered last year in the South Pacific
by Commander A. F. Balfour, of the British Navy.*

That disturbances were taking ])lace in this tremendous abyss
was again suggested at six o’clock on the morning of J uly 4, wlien
the Canadian Pacific Railway Comi)any’s mail steamer Empress
of Japan, sailing directly over it in a smooth sea, was shaken as if
a propeller blade had been lost or the ship had struck an ob-
struction. Every one was roused by the })eculiar shock, but no
visil)le cx])lanation was furnished. The destructive wave and
this incident together should stimulate further investigation of
this dangerous, bottomlc.ss pit of the Pacilic ocean, whieh owes
its discovery to United States explorers by deei)-sea soundings.

*.See Nat. Gkoo. .Mag., voI. vii, p. ‘26'2.

THE RETURN OF DR NANSEN

The National Geographic Magazine rejoices in the safe return
and in the extensive geographic explorations of Dr F. Nansen,
Captain O. N. Svendrup, and their companions in the Fram.
Nansen entered the jiack in September, 1893, in 78° 50' north,
134° east, to the northwest of the New Siberian islands. This
drift was in the same general direction as that of De Long in the
Jeannette. The Fram liarel y escaped destruction by the action of
the ice, but it reached by IMarch, 1895, 83° 59' north, 102° west.
At this point Dr Nansen, with one companion, reached, April 7,
1895, by dogs and sledge over the frozen sea. 8G° 14' north and
about 95° east, a point 2° 51' farther north than was made by
Lockwood and Brainard,of the Greel}' expedition. Nansen for
some unexplained reason did not return to the Frnm, which was
left in command of Caiitain Svendrup, but started for Spitzbergen
via Franz Josef land. He reached, August 6, 1895, in 81° 38'
north, 63° east, outlying ice-capped islands of the Franz Josef
archijielago, and wintered in the vicinity. Subsisting on bear and
walrus meat, he almost miraculously met the Jackson-Harms-
worth party wintering on Franz Josef land and was brought
safely by them to Vardo. Nansen’s experiences were astound-
ing in character, and his safe return results from a combination of
courage, endurance, and self-helpfulness, supplemented by good
fortune, unequaled in the annals of Arctic exploration.

Svendrup’s return with the Fram happily ends the fears that
were entertained for the safety of the vessel on Nansen’s return.
It would seem, in the absence of definite information, that the
Fram drifted to the northward of Franz Josef land and Spitz-
bergen and came into open water to the northwest of the latter
land. No land was discovered to the north of the eighty-second
parallel, and the archipelago discovered by the Greely expedi-
tion remains the most northerly land known. The very deep
water, 2,185 fathoms, found by Svendrup indicates an extension
to the north and east of the great deep existent between Spitz-
bergen and Greenland, and renders it improbable that any ex-
tensive land lies to the north of Franz Josef land or Spitzbergen.

Thus by boldness and energy, rivaling those qualities of their
Scandinavian ancestors, have Nansen and Svendruj) rolled back
for admiring mankind, to an extent unequaled in this age, the
Ultima Thule of the North.

290

DESCRIPTIVE TOPOGRAPHIC TERMS OF SPANISH

AMERICA*

By Robert T. Hill,

United States Geological Survey

“ Did it ever occur to the reader how poverty-stricken the (I will not
say English exactly, but) Anglo-American language is in sharp, crisp,
definite topograpliic terms ? English writers seem to have gathered up
a moderate number of them, but they got most of them from Scotland
within the past thirtj' or forty years. They are not a part of our legiti-
mate inheritance from the mother country. In truth, we have in this
country some three or four words which are available for duty in express-
ing several scores of topographic characteristics. Anything that is hol-
low we call a valley and anything that stands up above the surrounding
land we call a hill or mountain ; but the Spanish — or Mexican, if you
prefer — is rich in topographic terms which are delightfully expressive
and definite. There is scarcely a feature of the land which repeats itself
with similar characteristics that has not a pat name ; and these terms
are euphonious as well as precise. They designate things objective as
happily and concisely as the Saxon designates things subjective ; there-
fore we use them.” — Major C. E. Dutton, “ Mount Taylor and the Zuili
Plateau,” pp. 126-127, Sixth Annual Report, U. S. Geological Survey,
1884-’85.

An apj)ropriate generic name should be provided for every
possible form of the earth’s surface, so that when referred to it
may be as readily recognized as are the parts of a building in
an architectural description. The nomenclature of geographic
processes has far outstripped that of topographic forms, so that
pages of literature are burdened with sentences descriptive of
ordinary unnamed features of the landscape that should be
expressed by simple designations. The English language is
exceedingly sterile in topographic adjectives and substantives,
and such words as we possess are ambiguously applied to many
different specific forms.

All topograi)hic forms may be reduced to four distinct generic
categorie.s — eminences (protuberances), plains, valleys, and de-
clivities. Each of these has variations ])roductive of a large
number of specific forms, ))assing one into another.

• Pre|mrc<l for n report to ttio Director of ftie U. .S. OooloKiciil Survey on tlio geonru-
phy of tlie Texus - New Mexieun region of tlie Uniteil Stiitos.

292

TOPOGRAPHIC TERMS OF SPANISH AMERICA

The English pioneers gave to the tojDographic features of
America only a few names. Eminences they described as moun-
tains, hills, knobs, chains, ranges, lone mountains, and lost
mountains. They called valleys lake valleys, l>asin valleys (a
very ambiguous term), and river valleys. I cannot at present
recall any established English words for varieties of plains. The
words we use for these — plateaux, savannas, etc. — are all foreign
terms. For declivities we have slope, bluff, terrace, escarpment,
bank, etc. Possibl}" the paucity of descriptive words for plains is
due to the fact that in England, where the English language
developed, plains are not conspicuous topographic features.

In the portions of America settled or explored by the Spanish
race there is a remarkable stock of appropriate descriptive topo-
graphic terms, as can be ascertained by studjdng and translat-
ing the names upon any of the maps of southwestern United
States. Although unfamiliar to eastern ears, these words are as
euphonious as some of those invented by modern geographers.
They also bear the stamp of priority, for they were probably ap-
})lied to the features they now adorn before the English settled
on the North American continent, and the}' have since been in
constant use by the people of the region. They appear also on
]niblished maj)S, and nearly every word used in this pa])er is
taken from some ])rinted map of New Mexico, of the adjacent
border states of Mexico, or of Trans-Pecos Texas.

It should, perhaps, be stated that the ])resent article is not
written from the standpoint of a philologist, and may not even
bear the close criticism of a linguist. It is an outgrowth of the
writer’s hal)it of looking up the meaning of names encountered
in his travels in S}>anish America. Finally, on taking stock of
tlie words collected, he has found that they cover nearly every
possible topographic form in the region. These terms, as applied
in America, may not exactly coincide in meaning with Castilian
usage, but they are now Americanized and in daily use. They
are now submitted to the criticism of intelligent geographers.
INIany of them may seem unnecessary and even useless, but there
are some admirable ones that will survive and that in their an-
glicized form must be adopted in any scheme of geographic
nomenclature which would seek to have an appropriate general
term for every possible topographic form.

NAMES APPLIED TO PROTUBERANCES (MOUNTAIN FORMS)

The following names of protuberances above adjacent regions.

TOPOGRAPHIC TERMS OF SPANISH AMERICA

293

known to us as mountains and hills, are preserved in the carto-
graphic literature of Spanish America:

Eminencia,

Picacho,

Tinaja,

Montana,

Pena,

Sandia,

Cerro,

Candela,

Pelado,

Cerrillo,

Pelon,

Pico,

Loma,

Peloncilla,

Cumbre,

Lomita,

Teta,

Cuchilla,

Cordillera,

Tejon,

Chiquito.

Sierra,

Huerfano,

Eminencia. — A generic term for any kind of mountainous or hilly pro-
tuberance.

Montana. — A generic term for mountain, exactly synonymous with the
English word mountain as used in distinction from hill.

Cerro. — A single eminence, somewhat intermediate between our con-
ceptions of hill and mountain. It is an eminence of too great an altitude
to be called a hill, but yet too low to be called a mountain.

Cerrillo. — The diminutive of cerro ; printed cerrito on many maps.

Loma. — A hill ; a rising ground in the midst of a plain.

Lomita. — A small loma.

Certain terms applied to mountains convey an idea of their
arrangement :

Cordillera. — This term is used in a collective sense for a mass of moun-
tains as distinguished from single mountain summits. For illustration,
the Rocky mountain region of the North American continent, or, as called
by others, the cordilleran region, is divisible into a number of areas where
the crests are numerous and compactly crowded. These areas are sepa-
rated from one another by intervals of a less mountainous character.
The areas of multiple masses are cordilleras. For instance, the eastern
front of the Rocky mountain region is composed of the IMontaiia, Colo-
rado, Guadalupe, and Mexican (eastern Sierra Madre) cordilleras.

Sierra. — This name is u.sed in the singular for a mountain mass, range,
or block of elongated outline, usually with a serrated crest. A group of
sierras, such as any Mexican Sierra INladre, may constitute a cordillera.

The following words are descriptive of the forms of single
mountains or hills :

Piritrho. — .\ peake«l or pointed eminence.

J’ena (the end of the nii/.zen-mast).— A needle-like eminence. Exam-
ples, I’ena Osciira, New Mexico; Pefia Colora<lo, Texas.

CnndrluH (candles). — .V collection of pefia summits. Example, Sierra
Candela, of the state of Coahnila, Mexiccj.

J^i'lon. — A bare conical eminence, having the <nitline of a sugar loaf.

J^eloncilla. — The diminutive of pelon. Examjile, Brackett sheet, Tt'xas.

'J'eta. — A solitary, circular mountain having the form of a woman’s
breast. The French word mnnuion is also used synonymously for tela in

TOPOGRAPHIC TERMS OF SPAXl)iH AMERICA

2!t-J

the ifitlimus of Panama, generally for a lower eminence, however. Teton
is used in the United States and Canada.

Tejon (disk-shaped) and huerjano (orphan) are also used for circum-
scribed eminences. The latter is applied especially to solitary eminences
standing far away from kindred masses.

Tinaja. — A solitary, hemispherical mountain, shaped somewhat like
the inverted bottom of a Mexican olla. The term is more generally u.sed,
however, for water holes or natural bowls.

SorifUa (watermelon). — An oblong, oval, or rounded eminence. Exam-
ple, the Sandia range of New Mexico.

Pelado. — A barren, treele.ss mountain.

Other appropriate words describe the relative parts of a moun-
tain or mountains :

Cnmhre. — The highest elevation or highest peak of a sierra or cordillera.

Pico. — A summit point.

CuchiUa (knife). — u-seful term for the salients or comb-like, secondary
crests which project at right angles between the lateral drainage originat-
ing on the sides of a sierra. Example, the Cuchilla de Baracoa of Cuba.
It is equivalent to the French arete.

The adjective chiquito, meaning little, is applied to minor secondary
fringing elevations accompanying ihe base of a sierra or cordillera, such
as “ hogbacks.”

NAMES APPLIED TO PLAINS

The arid region of North America is about equally divided
into mountains and plains. The plains belong to four great
topographic categories, which in the rich Spanish nomenclature
of the region maj' be termed mesas, bolsons, plazas, and cuestas (in-
cluding hajadas). Mesas are summit plains ; cuestas and bajadas
are inclined plains, which can also be classed as declivities;
plazas and bolsons are valley plains or flat-bottomed valleys.

The term mesa means, literally, a table. It is a flat surface on
the top of hills or mountains. In New Mexico it is applied not
only to the table-lands of a circumscribed summit, but to ex-
tensive level benches abutting against higher eminences and
bounded partially by escarpments called cejas. Extensive mesa
regions are usually called by Americans jilateaux.

Mesas of New Mexico and of the Trans-Pecos region of Texas
are of three general t3'pes : plateau mesas, bench mesas, and
cuesta mesas. The plateau mesa is a circumscribed summit
whose continuity with other areas has been destroyed by erosion.
The bench mesa is a bench or shoulder projecting against a region
forming a higher background. Bench mesas may be classified
by structure into bolson mesas, stream-terrace mesas, talus-fan

TOPOGRAPHIC TERMS OF SPANISH AMERICA

295

mesas, and malpais mesas. A bolson mesa is a bench mesa form-
ing the outer escarpment of a drainage valley v’hicb has l>een
cut through a bolson. Example, the El Paso mesa. Stream-
terrace, talus-fan, and malpais mesas are self-explanator}^ terms.

A cuesta is a structural plain, so tilted that it has a perceptibly
sloping surface. The cuesta is, in a manner, a transitional fea-
ture between mesa and mountain. The Cuesta del Burro of tlie
Marfa, Texas, sheet of the United States Geological Survey is an
example.

Bolson.* — The third type of plain is the bolson. Bolsons are
basin valleys which have not, or originally had not, an}^ out-
flowing drainage, and are lined with sedimentary debris derived
from the surrounding countiy.

A 'plaza t may be defined as the sublevel floor of an extensive,
wide, flat valley lying between the cejas of mesas. In conception
it resembles a canon in being limited by cliffs, but differs from
a canon in the element of narrowness, the floor of a plaza being
an exceptionally wide valley plain. Examide, Plaza Larga, the
flat valley of a southern tributar}’- of the Canadian, in New
Mexico, near the Texas line. The valleys of the Pecos and
Canadian rivers in eastern New Mexico are plazas of great mag-
nitude.

^lesas and cuestas are structural plains, representing surfaces
resulting from the survival of hard layers of rock.

The plaza is a degradational plain, lying between steep escarp-
ments, and formed by the cutting away of the hard, rock floor
of the mesas through the underlying unconsolidated beds, to still
lower strata of harder rock beneath it.

The bolson is an aggradational plain, formed by the filling
up of ancient structural and erosion valleys by the debris of tbe
marginal country.

The edges of the rock-sheets composing mesas in some in-
stances upturn into mountain structure. The mountain struc-
ture sometimes flattens out into mesa structure.

The cuesta is a transitional feature, and connecting step be-
tween the mountain, mesa, and bolson. When a cuesta slopes
toward a mountain and has its ceja or escarpment on tlie side
farthest from and subparallel to tbe mountain range, tbe valley

•Literally a large purse. Example, Holson ile Mapimi. Lake Honnevillo is a
liolson.

+ Literally an open, level area, sueh as a public square, a market place, or a drill
ground. Applied in topography to local stretches of level, soarp-hordoreil valh-ys. in
a generally hilly region.

296

TOPOGRAPHIC TERMS OF SPANISH AMERICA

lying between this and the mountain may become a bolson, and
the highest crest of the escarpment of the cuesta may represent
a sim})le monoclinal summit of the type defined by Russell and
Gilbert as “ basin ranges.” The escarpment of a cuesta is often
produced by a fault running parallel with it, and still another
bolson may be developed in the trough thus formed at its foot.
This process, many times rej)eated, produces alternations of
bolson plains and of basin ranges of the cuesta type.

Rolsons alwa}'-s lie in valleys between the mountains, mesas,
or cuestas, and are of subsequent origin.

.Mesas are remnants of ])lains, once more extensive, but now
constantly diminishing in area by degradation. Plazas are plains
cut out of mesas, representing areas from which the mesas have
been removed, and, conversely to the mesa, are increasing in
area. Bolsons are ancient valleys which have been and usually
are still being filled up by degradation of the surrounding moun-
tains, mesas, and cuestas. The mesa plains in general constitute
the plateau regions bordering the lateral and terminal portions
of cordilleras, and occur chiefly as the platform surrounding the
eastern line of the Rocky mountain cordilleras.

The j)lazas lie mostly east of the true mountains, principally
along the Pecos and Canadian valleys of New Mexico, but are
es{)ccially develoj)ed in the plateau countries wherever the forma-
tion known as the Red Beds enters into the substructure.

The bolsons generally lie interiorward of the plateau (mesa)
regions bordering the interior side of the easternmost ranges of
the cordilleran front and usually increase in area westward.

The chief plaza countries of the Southwest are from 2,000 to
4,000 feet in altitude. The altitude of the mesa country varies
with the continental slope, but around the Rocky mountain re-
gion has an average of more than 5,000 feet. The bojsons usually
lie l)etween 4,000 and 5,000 feet, although some of them are below
sea level.

NAMES APPLIED TO DECLIVITIES

The terms applied to declivities are :

Ceja, Puerto, Escabrodura,

Cejita, Bajada, Balcones.

Ceja. — The late General Albert Pike wrote the first descrij^tion of which
I find mention of the great escarpment constituting the eastern breaks of
that })ortion of the mesa (plateau) of the plains known as the Llano
Estacado. I have been unable to find his book, but George Wilkins

TOPOGRAPHIC TERMS OF SPANISH AMERICA

297

Kendall, who wrote the “ Narrative of the Texan Santa Fe Expedition,” *
refers to it in describing the breaks or escarpment near Red river as fol-
lows : “ The ^Mexicans who started with Albert Pike in his journey across
the prairie spoke of this steppe and gave the name of Las Cejas, or the
Eyebrows, to the singular range, [t] INIr P. appears to have passed to
the south of the steppe.”

The word ceja literally means a fringe, selvage, or border, and in to-
])ography is used for the escarpment cliff of a mesa. I was agreeably
surprised to find this word used in its literal sense as the escarpment or
mesa in three widely separated localities on the United States Land Office
maps of New Mexico — the Ceja de los Comancheros, the Cejas de Galisteo,
the Cejitas Blanca. If there is any feature more conspicuous than others
in the arid region of New Mexico it is these cejas, extending for miles and
miles across the country as far as the eye can see.

Cejita is the diminutive of ceja and is a very appropriate word for lines
of low escarpments which are frequently met with. These are usually
a secondaiy accompaniment of the larger cejas. For instance, where a
mesa has a compound escarpment the uppermost cliff constitutes the pre-
dominating ceja, wliile its lower slopes reveal smaller benches in terrace-
like arrangement, the faces of which may appropriately be called cejitas.

Puerto. — In the account of the Texan Santa Fe expedition is found a
description of how the party wandered for miles along the mesa edges
trying to find a place where they could descend the cejas of the northern
edge of the Llano Estacado. Such a place, made by the flattening of the
gradient of the caletas forming the headwater drainage, was called a
puerto, which may be defined as a drainage notch through a ceja or sierra.

Bajada. — The term bajada literally means a gradual descent. I find it
used upon the maps of New Mexico and applied to a gradually descend-
ing slope as distinguished from a more vertical escarpment. Example,
the Bajada de los Comancheros. I take the liberty of proposing to limit
the use of this term to extensive slopes of degradational and aggradational
origin. J: Bajadas of the latter kind are composed of talus and often con-
stitute extensive features, such as that shown west of the Rio Grande
on the Santa Clara, New Mexico, sheet of the United States Geological
Survey. This definition is made in order to distinguish between a bajada
and a cuesta, the latter being a tilted structural plain.

Eitmbrodura. — Literally the place where a chicken has scratched. In
Featherstone’s account of the Santa F6 Expedition ^ he describes how the
party became lost and entangled in the escabroduras lying eastward of
the ceja of the Llano Estacado. These were nothing more than the in-
deeply erode<l regions we know as Bad Lands. The ba.ses of nearly all
the cejas grade into extensive regions of e.scabroduras.

Jinlconen (balcony). — This name has lx;en specifically applied and is

* Narrative of the Texiiri Santa F6 Expedition, Ijy George Wilkina Kendall. Vol. i,
page 2.V>. London, ISI l.

t It will be well to remember ttiat in all the old exploration.a tlie groat eecarpmentH of
tlio meHaa are called mountains or ranges.

t There siiotild be a term for eaeli of these kinds of slope.

§ Journal of the Kuyal Geographical Society, I8 t.'l.

298

TOPOGRAPHIC TERMS OF SPANISH AMERICA

still used for the line of hills forming the scarp of the plateau region of
Texas, between Austin and the Rio Grande.

NAMES APPLIED TO STREAMS AND STREAM VALLEYS

The Spanish language, judging from the application of the
terms, is exceedingly rich in appropriate names for both stream
courses and the forms of the stream basins. The following are
a few of the words ajiplied to the streams proper :

Rio. — flowing river; the arterial trunk of a drainage system.

Cala. — A creek, corresponding to the laterals of the main drainage.

Calela (leading into). — This is a useful word for the ultimate and small-
est headwater ramification of a cala or lateral. It is synonymous with the
term “ draw,” used in the middle Plains region of the United States, the
“ coulee” of Montana, and “ drain” as used in Colorado.

An-oijo. — A streamway, ordinarily dry, in which water occurs only im-
mediately after a torrential rainfall.

Tliere are also many terms describing certain characteristic
acpteous conditions I’requently met wuth in our arid region, such
as ojo, agua, tinaja, cieuega, ensenada, laguna, etc.

The Spanish language likewise presents a rich assortment of
appropriate terms descriptive of the form of the stream valley or
drainage basin.

Barmncn. — .V gorge of the first magnitude in a mountain region. The
valley of the Arkansas through the Rockies is a barranca ; the Royal gorge
is a canon in the lower portion of the barranca.

Cation. — A generic term for a streamway having very steep walls and
a narrow gorge. Its use conveys two ideas, verticality of wall and nar-
rowness of the valley.

Cajon. — A canon having vertical walls like the sides of a box.

Tijera. — A cafion with angular walls having the profile of a letter V.

CanoncUa. — A small canon.

Canada. — The smallest cafion.

Plaza. — The plaza described under the general head of plains belongs
also under the head of drainage valleys. It resembles the cafion in that
it is bordered by subvertical walls, but diflers in that its bottom instead
of being narrow is of great breadth.

Rincon. — Literally a corner ; a short, wide arm of a plaza indenting a
mesa, receiving drainage at its inner end, and opening into a plaza.

(^aebrada. — This word literally means a ravine, and is extensively used
in Guatemala and other Central American states.

Boca (mouth). — Where a stream way suddenly leaves a barranca, tijera,
canon, or other precipitous gorge, and debouches on a plain, the point is
called a boca. The bocas of Spanish America are conspicuous and inter-
esting features.

Foao (a ditch). — A streamway without conspicuous banks or bluffs.

Calltjon. — A deep and narrow pass through a sierra.

Angostura. — A nari’ow pass through a ceja.

TOPOGRAPHIC TERMS OF SPANISH AMERICA

299

The foregoing words cover nearly all the characteristic topo-
gra[)hic forms of the arid region of Spanish America for which
Ave have no good English equivalents. There remain, however,
two interesting unnamed forms of valleys in the arid region for
which I have as yet found no appropriate Spanish Avords. One
of these is the elongated headwater indentation of a streaniAA'ay
into a mesa, haAung canon Avails and a notable area of flat, Avide
bottom. This type of canoned streamAvay is especially devel-
oped along the coastAvard side of the Great Plains south of the
Arkansas, and particularh^ along the Llano Estacado and Ed-
wards plateau, Avhere the heads of all the principal drainage
incise the plains in this manner. The wide, flat bottoms of the
streaiUAvay have often been partially refilled by later aggrada-
tional material. This form of valley is to a certain extent an
elongated rincon. It ma_y also be conceived as a narroAv plaza.
The home of the Quohado * band of Comanche Indians Avas in a
canon of this character where the Red river indents the Llano
Estacado. For the Avant of a better name, the term quohado
could be provisional!}'’ used for this type of valley.

Xearl}^ all the stream A^alleys described above are the result
of normal drainage following the inclination of a sloping plain
or mountain side. Occasionally, hoAveA'er, the seaward progress
of a stream is opposed by an interior-facing escarpment Avhich
must he crossed. Without here stopping to describe the method
by Avhich this has been accom])lished, it may l^e stated that there
are usually great V-shai)e valleys indenting the escarpment at
such places, constituting a feature resembling a rincon, hut dif-
fering from it in that the apex of the V points doAvn stream
instead of toAvard the lieadAvaters, and in that it receives the
drainage at its Avider end instead of discharging it therefrom.
Although the Spanish language has fiiled to name this feature,
the coAvboys have called it the “ Fry-pan valley.” This form of
topography is a conspicuous feature of the Texas region.

In conclusion, let us illustrate the a])pro])riateness of some of
these terms by direct application to tlie Rocky mountain and
Great Plains region. This, as a Avhole, is com])osed of great
masses of mountains, cordilleras, and single ranges called sierras.
Resides these, there are many more or less small, isolated j)eaks —
tetas, mamelons, sandias, cernjs, etc. The ]trinci]>al cordilleras

• It WRS ut one time siiKKCHted thiit the word Quoliiido wiie a oormptioii of Quebnidn,
but Mr Jamea Mooney informs me that such is not the caae, Quohado beinx a Cotuaiitdie
Word signifying outside

300

TOPOGRAPHIC TERMS OF SPANISH AMERICA

are as follows, beginning at the north and east: The Montana
cordillera, the Colorado cordillera, the Guadalupe cordillera,
and the cordillera of the eastern Sierra Madre. Each of these
grades westw’ard into a great mesa or plateau region. The Co-
lumbia plateau borders the Montana cordillera. The Colorado
plateau lies w'est, southw’est, and southea.st of the Colorado cor-
dillera. The Guadalupe cordillera is bordered on the west by a
relatively smaller, but nevertheless extensive, plateau, known as
the Sierra Diablo, which appears as a diminutive feature on the
map. The eastern Sierra Madre of Mexico likewise flattens out
westward into an extensive plateau region, which, for the want
of a better name, I call the Parras plateau. The plateaus become
tilted in places into cuestas, and, by faulting, the latter grade into
sierras of the basin-range type, separated by bolsons. Each of
the plateau regions is thus bordered on the west and south by
great regions of bolsons and basin ranges. The Colorado plateau
is h»ordered on the w'est and southwest by the Great Basin region
of Powell and Gilbert, and on the southeast by the Coahuilan
bolson region.

There are also internodal areas of mesa-like topography be-
tween the ends of the cordillera masses of the Rocky mountain
systems, such as that lying between the southern end of the
Colorado cordillera and the northern end of the Guadalupe
cordillera. The great cordillera in Ave.stern Mexico known as
the Sierra Madre passes at its northern end into the Colorado
plateau (not into the California sierras, as often supposed), and
constitutes a partial barrier between the Coahuilan bolson region
of Mexico, Trans-Pecos Texas, and New Mexico, and the great
bolson (basin) region of Utah and Nevada.

The plateaus of the plains lying east of the Rocky mountain
region south of Arkansas river are collectively a series of mesas
overlooking broad plazas and separated from them by escarp-
ments. The conspicuous plaza regions are the Canadian and
Pecos valleys of New Mexico. The great Central Denuded region
of Texas, Oklahoma, and southern Kansas is also mostly a plaza
region. On the east are Cretaceous prairies of Texas, which w’e
have described as dip plains; these are incipient cuestas. The
Central Denuded region lying between tbe westward-facing
scarps of these prairies* on the east and the eastward-looking
scar})s of the plains on the w'est is collectively a great plaza
country.

•The old border of Appalachia forms the eastern boundary of this region, north of
the Ouachita mountain system of Indian Territory.

TOPOGRAPHIC TERMS OF SPANISH AMERICA

301

The escarpments bordering the mesas and surrounding the
plaza countries can also be readily described in this nomencla-
ture. Theoretically, the simplest scarp form may be merely a
ceja or cliff, but in this region, where hard and soft layers alter-
nate, the escarpments are nearly ever}^where compound, con-
sisting of a surmounting ceja cornice, leading down by slopes
(bajadas) and cejitas to a lower pediment, usually made of
escabroduras (bad lands).

Let us also see how these terms Avill apply to the description
of what we commonly know as drainage basins.

East of the mountains the two through-flowing streams of
major magnitude, the Pecos and Canadian, pass from mountains
into mesa regions and thence to plazas. The streams of second
magnitude, such as the Red, Brazos, and Colorado, originate on
mesas and pass through rincons or quohados into plazas. The
streams of both these classes leave the plaza countries through
fry-pans. The fry -pan of the Pecos is the southern end of the
Pecos plaza where this stream, near the thirty-first meridian,
enters a canon made by the gathering walls of the Stockton and
Edwards plateau. The Colorado, west of Austin, finds its way
across the western escarpment of the Grand Prairie by means of
a similar fry-])an yalle3^ The Brazos, Colorado, Trinity, and
Red river all make similar fry-pan indentations into the west-
ern edge of the Grand Prairie escarpment.

The Canadian mav be thus described : . The caletas leading
down from the cuchillas of the Snowy range in the mountain-
ous })ortion of the stream cpiickly gather into tijeras. Reaching
the Ocate and Las Vegas mesas, the streamway through them
is a canon. The boca of this canon is where the stream enters
the plaza region, between tlie thirty-fifth and thirt^'-sixth paral-
lels. From tlie Ijoca to the 102d meridian the streamway
threads the plaza country of the Canadian, oidy limited on
either side hv' the great cejasof the Llano Estacado on the south
and of the Las Vegas mesa on the north. The ])laza of the
Canadian as a whole is subdivided cejitas into numerous
succe.ssive plazas. The stream leaves the ])laza country through
a frv-pan and traverses the eastern ])ortion of the plateau of the
Plains through a canoncita. 'I’his canoncita also has a l)oca
near tlie KJOth meridian, marking the entrance of the river into
the still greater plaza of the Central Denuded region. Here the
topograph}' again changes, the center (jf the streamway becomes

■JO

302

WEATHER BUREAU RIVER AND FLOOD SYSTEM

a sand plain, while its margins are denuded divides of the type
called escabroduras or bad lands.

The Rio Grande, like the Canadian, has its caletas in the Rocky
mountains, gathering into tijeras, but the remainder of its course
is quite different. It soon enters the great bolson of San Luis
valley and continues in a longitudinal direction through a chain
of bolsons the entire distance across New Mexico and into Texas
as far as Quitman mountains. Thence, until the Cordilleras are
crossed, it flows through great barrancas. Leaving the moun-
tains, its course through the Stockton i)lateau is a typical canon,
finally merging into the low country of the Rio Grande embay-
ment.

THE WEATHER BUREAU RIVER AND FLOOD SYSTEM

By Professor MTllis L. IMoore,

Chief of the Weather Bureau

The special work of the \Veather Bureau in connection with
the rivers of the country is to facilitate commerce on navigable
streams l)y the dail}’ pul)lication of information as to water stages
along the course of each river, and to issue timel}" warnings of
floods, with a view to the saving of life and property.

On January 1, 181)6, theAVeather Bureau river and flood system
consisted of 145 sj^ecial river stations, equipped with standard
river-gauges for measuring the vertical rise of the surface of the
Avater, and in man}' cases with standard thermometers for meas-
uring air temperature. Tliese stations were manned by local
observers, receiving from the Weather Bureau pay commensurate
with tlieir services. There were 42 rainfall stations, equipped
Avith rain-gauges and manned by local-paid observers, and so
distributed in the various catchment basins of the tributaries to
important rivers as to give, in connection Avith the regular me-
teorological Weather Bureau stations, a fair ap])roximation to
the average rainhill throughout each Avatershed. There Avere
38 completely equipped meteorological stations of the Weather
Bureau Avhere riA'er measurements Avere made, and 16 Weather
Bureau stations Avhich Avere centers from Avhich flood Avarnings
and forecasts of ex{)ected changes in river level Avere issued.

As yet the rules of flood forecasting are largely empirical. The
official in charge of a river center is familiar Avith the main river

WEATHER BUREAU RIVER AND FLOOD SYSTEM 303

and its tributaries, the area and topography of the catchment
basin, the freqnenc3^ and. especially the intensity, of the rainfall,
the average time occupied in the passage of flood-crests from one
station to anotlier, and the history of past rises. The knowl-
edge of low-water conditions, especially where bars and shoals
exist, is perha{)s of as great importance as the knowledge of high
water. In fact, many statements are received at the central
office in Washington from steamboat and navigation companies
to the effect that low-water conditions continue longer and affect
navigation more than those of high water. The people living in
regions contiguous to navigable streams are materiall}^ affected
in their industries by the conditions of navigation, but the de-
struction of life and property, as effected by the rivers, depends
entire!}’' upon flood conditions. The official in charge of a river
center is expected, with the data at his command, to give in-
formation to those interested in navigation, even during low or
medium stages of water, that is of great pecuniary value; but
his chief and foremost duty is the dissemination of warnings
when floods threaten.

Many data in regard to river stages have been published by
the Weather Bureau, the Mississippi River commission, and the
U. S. Signal Service. From the data thus collected and now
covering many years at some stations and shorter periods at
others, the following general relations have been deduced : The
time it takes high water to pass from Pittsburg to Wheeling is
one day; from Pittsburg to Parkersburg, two days; from Park-
ensburg to Cincinnati, three days; from Cincinnati to Cairo, six
days ; from Cairo to Vicksburg, seven days, and from Vicksburg
to New Orleans, four days. From Pittsburg, therefore, to the
Gulf requires 22 days. Similar general relations concerning the
movements of other rivers have been determined. Since the
time of travel is so great, it naturally follows that many inter-
fering conditions arise tending to accelerate or retard the crest
of the flood-wave. No simple time rules are therefore possible.
The volume of water passing a station in a given time is known
ftw only a few places, and varies, of course, with high and low
water; nor can sini])l(.‘ rules be based upon the rainfall, as the
absorptive condition of the soil is not constant and the distribu-
tion of precipitation over the drainage area is not always deter-
minable.

'I'be principal rivers concerned in the W'eather Bureau sys-
tem are the Alleghany, Monongabela, Ohio, Kanawha, W’abasb,

304

^y FATHER BUREAU RIVER AND FLOOD SYSTEM

Illinois, Tennessee, Cumberland, Mississippi, Missouri, Arkansas,
and Red rivers of the central valleys ; the Columbia, Sacra-
mento, and San Joaquin of the Pacific coasts and the Hudson,
Susquehanna, Potomac, Savannah, Chattahoochee, and Alabama
of the Atlantic and east Gulf coast. Gauging stations are most
numerous on the rivers of the central valleys, and rainfall sta-
tions are more numerous throughout the catchment liasins of
these rivers than they are on the combined rivers of the Atlantic
and Pacific coasts.

The river-flood service of the Bureau was reorganized on July
3, 1893, and the duty of warning communities resident along
the great rivers i>laced in the hands of local forecast officials at
the {irincipal river centers. Each forecaster in charge of a river
center has a definite section of the river system of his district to
watch and forecast for. He receives the necessary telegraphic
reports of rainfall tliat has occurred over the tributaries in his
river district, the daily telegraphic data as to gauge readings
nearer the source of the main river than his own station, and
also gauge readings on many of the tributary streams. Each
forecaster is familiar with the area of the catchment basin from
which his rainfall reports are received, the contour and configu-
ration of the surface, and the jiermealhlity of the soil. A slowly
falling rain of considerable volume on a nearly level and perme-
able soil may cause little rise, while a ra})idly falling rain of the
same amount on an impermeable and greatly inclined surface
will gather quickly in the channels of tributaries and soon be-
come a rushing torrent in the main stream. Local forecasters
are furnished with all the data available relative to the histoiy
of previous floods, and are consequently equi[)ped as completely
as possible for the work before them. In view of this fact and
of the ability and experience of the men employed on this im-
]>ortanty duty, it is believed that no disastrous rise can occur in
the future without adequate warning of the same having been
given to all concerned.

The territory assigned to each forecast district is as follows :
New Orleans : Mississiiqh river from Vicksburg to its mouth
and the Red and Ouachita rivers; Vicksburg: the river from
Memphis to Vicksburg ; Cairo: that section of the Ohio from
Evansville to Cairo and of the Mississii)pi from St. Louis to
INIemphis; St. Louis: the Mississip|)i from Davenport to St.
Louis and the Missouri east of Kansas City; Omaha: the INIis-
souri from Kansas City northward ; Cincinnati : the Ohio and

]VEATHER BEREA U RIVER AND FLOOD SYSTEM 305

its tributaries from Evansville to Marietta ; Nashville : the Cum-
berland, Chattanooga, and Tennessee rivers; Montgomeiy : the
rivers in Alabama; Little Rock: the Arkansas; St. Paul: the
INIississippi above Davenport; Harrisburg: the Susquehanna;
Augusta : the Savannah ; Portland, Oregon : the Snake and Co-
lumbia; San Francisco: the Sacramento and San Joaquin.

A river bulletin-board has been placed on some of the prin-
cipal steamboats leaving Cairo, so arranged that the river stages
can lie read by people on shore and on passing steamers. Thus
pilots ascending or descending the river get the latest informa-
tion as to the height of the water at the places to which they are
bound.

The river-gauge is a graduated scale on which the height of
the river is measured. The zero of the gauge is usually at or
somewhere near the level of the lowest water known. A gauge
is generall}' vertical, is usually fastened to a bridge, pier, or piling,
and is of sufficient length to cover the greatest height of water
likely to occur. ’When a river-gauge cannot be set vertically, it
is laid on the bank according to the slope of the ground. The
foot-marks on a gauge of this kind must be accurately located
by means of a spirit-level, so as to agree with those on a vertical
gauge. When a stage of water below the zero occurs, it is read
as a minus stage. It is not desirable to change the zero point
after readings made from that basis have continued for any
length of time.

It may be of interest to know that on account of the narrow-
ne.ss of the valley and the precipitous shore line of the Ohio the
water in this river must show a rise varying from 30 to 50 feet
before the danger line is reached. At Cincinnati the danger line
is 45 feet above the zero of the scale, and a height of 7 1 feet above
zero lias been recorded. On the upper Mississi])pi the danger
line averages about 15 feet above zero, but from St. Louis south-
ward to Vicksburg it averages about 35 feet, while at New Orleans,
with its great system of levees, the danger limit is but 13 feet
above zero.

In the early history of the river s\\stem the data received from
the various river stations, tbougb meager, were sufficient to i>er-
mit useful warning of marked changes in the river levels. In
the spring of 1874 this branch of the Hureau bad its first expe-
rience with destructive floods. In that year floods devastated
the valleys of the lower Mississip])i, the Arkansas, White, Peil,
and other rivers, causing crevasses in the levees and inundating

306

WEATHER BEREAU RIVER AND FLOOD SYSTEM

large areas of bottom lands in the ^Mississippi delta. The value
of the special reports wliich were telegraj^hed at that time b_y the
Weather Bureau (or Signal Service Office, as it then was) could
scarce! 3' he determined. The\" were the onl\" reports sent directly
to the i>eople of the flooded districts, and showed daily the com-
ing rise or fall of the water. A study of these floods showed the
necessitv of establishing for each of the rivers a certain depth of
water above which the stages were dangerous to river interests.
These points were designated as “ danger levels ” and “ danger
lines,” and were established for the ^Mississippi, Missouri, and
Ohio rivers during that year. In prosecuting this work, data
from the l>est available authorities were collected and comjhled
for the construction of a chart of the basins and watersheds of
the principal rivers. A river slate was designed, on which were
outlined the average grades of the beds of the various rivers at
different jiarts of tlieir courses. The object in preparing this
chart was to facilitate the tracing of flood-waves and their move-
ment from one place to another. When an unusualU' heavy
rain was noted in any watershed, it was known into what rivers
it must flow and ap|)roximately the rise that would result. A
knowledge of the rapidiU' with which the flood would travel and
of the rivers it would pass made it possible not only to follow its
course, but also to give timely warning of its approach.

Some idea of the vast destruction of properW bv floods may
be gathered from the statement that the floods of the spring of
1881 and of 1882 caused a loss of not less than 615,000,000 to the
properU’ interests of the Ohio and Mi.ssissipi)i valleys. It may
also be noted that the flood of the spring of 1882 caused a lo.ss
of 138 lives in the region from Cairo southward to New Orleans.

In forecasting stages of water during such flood j)eriods as the
two mentioned, it must be borne in mind that precipitation may
be onU' an inconsiderable factor. In those cases vast quantities
of snow, which had accumulated during the winter, overlay the
northern states, and with the early rains of spring came abnor-
mal heat, causing a ver}’ rapid melting of the snow lying over
manv of the watersheds. In these floods it is ])robable that the
sudden coming of abnormally high temjieratures was a more
2)otent influence than the immediate precipitation.

The floods of 1884 began in the Ohio valley in Fehruaiy,
when the river reached the highest stage on record. The Missis-
sippi river from Cairo to the Gulf also reached a very high stage.
Am2>le and timely warnings were telegraphed to all available

WEATHER BUREAU RIVER AND FLOOD SYSTEM 307

points throughout the Ohio valley, and the resources of the
Bureau were taxed to the utmost in the interests of the flooded
districts. The dainage caused in the Ohio valley this flood
could hardly be calculated. In the region about Cincinnati
alone the loss of property was variously estimated at from
810,000,000 to 825,000,000.

From June, 1889, to July, 1893, the care and supervision of
the flood service of the Bureau were entrusted to a single indi-
vidual, and a considerable extension of the system was made in
the way of establishing rainfall stations near the headwaters of
the more important tributaries of the great rivers. In the early
part of June, 1889, forecasts Avere made twelve to tAvent}^-four
hours in advance of the flood Avhich reached the city of Wash-
ington, and the value of property saved in this city alone Avas
many times greater than the annual appropriation for the entire
flood service of the country. In the spring of 1890 the loAver
Mississippi valley Avas flooded for a distance of forty miles back
from the river in the states of Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi,
and Louisiana. Special flood warnings, w-hich Avere amply con-
firmed by the subsequent stages of water, Avere issued from
Washington in advance of the flood, and in several instances
far in advance of the flood-crest. Numerous illustrations might
be adduced to shoAV the vast utility, from a commercial stand-
point, of a thoroughly equipped Government flood-Avarning sys-
tem, notAvithstanding the fact that the forecasts are based upon
empirical reasoning, and are, therefore, subject to more or less
error. The allotment from the annual appropriation for the
support of the river and flood system of the Weather Bureau is
not greater than the A’alue of property that may be saA'ed in the
cellar of an ordinary commercial house.

In considering the relation of the Weather Bureau to the
liydrography of tlie country it sliould not be forgotten that there
are noAV about 2,000 standard rain-gauges uniformly distributed
throughout the region east of the Rocky mountains from Avlncli
daily measurements of precipitation are received at the central
oflice. In tlie Rocky mountain region there are about 1,000
gauges, but, on account of the paucity of poj)ulation, tliere are
many imj)ortant regions from Avhich pro])cr data are not being re-
ceived. Measurements of snoAvfall on the higli mountain ranges
Avould be of great value in connection Avith irrigation, but the
))resent (listril)Ution of observation stations is inadetpiate to the
proper uiulertaking of this imj)ortant work.

CHARLES FRANCIS HALL AND JONES SOUND

The accom})an\nng letter — one of the last written by Hall, the
distinguished Arctic ex})lorer — is of marked interest, botli per-
sonal and historic, and its publication, in view of the continued
efforts of Mr Robert Stein to stimulate Arctic exploration from
a safe base station on the shores of Jones sound, is peculiarly
timely. The letter, addressed to Mr Henry Gannett, then of
Harvard College observatoiy, was in connection with the position
of astronomer to Hall’s expedition, which Mr Gannett declined.
It will be recalled that Hall’s instructions of June 10. 1871, left
his route open to his own choice. Admiral Davis, in his official
narrative of the expedition, says that Hall wrote Brevoort and
Grinnell, in January, 1870, that his route would be via Jones
sound, but adds: “He found occasion to change this opinion
before leaving the United States.” As no ])Ossil)le information
as to either route could have reached Hall, Davis’ narrative has
been held to indicate indecision on the part of Hall.

This letter, dated just one month before he left Washington,
shows Hall setting forth in detail his plans for exploration via
Jones sound, and confirms the belief, held by most Arctic men
in this country, that his success via Smith sound was due to his
good judgment in taking advantage of the ice conditions, which
were found to he especiall}’’ favorable toward Smith sound on his
passing cape York.

It may be added that the discoveries inade on the west coast
of Grinnell Land by Nares’ expedition in 1876 and Greely’s in
1882-’83 prove that no success that Hall could possibly have
attained via Jones sound would have equaled that resulting from
his excellent judgment in availing himself of the open sea toward
Smith sound, instead of attempting the distant and unknown ice
of the route he originally proposed to take. A. W. G.

WAsiirNGTON, D. C., May 10, 1871.

The scientific corps will be small -to consist of onl_v two or three. Dr
Emil Bessels, who has lately arrived from Heidelburg, Germany, is with
me. He is engaged as naturalist and photographer, and will most likely
he the surgeon. He comes strongly endorsed by Dr Peterman, of Gotha,
Germany, the most distinguished geographer of the world.

The great object of the expedition now fitting ont here at the navy yard
is to make geographical discoveries from about latitude 80° north up to the

308

CHARLES FRANCIS HALL AND JONES SOUND

309

North Pole. In doing this I feel [wish ?] to contribute all I can in ad-
vancing the cause of science, especially of that branch relating to astron-
omy. For near four months now the vessel designed for the North Polar
E.vpedition has been in hand at the Washington navj" yard. She has been
almost entireh^ built anew, and is now the best strengthened vessel for
Arctic service that any country ever fitted out. The vessel is to be in
waiting about the 1st of June, at which time I hope to take departure.
Capt. S. V. Budington, of Groton, Conn., is the sailing master and ice-
pilot ; Hubbel C. Chester, of Noank, Conn., is the first mate. The former
has been 30 years at sea and 20 years navigating, more or less, in Davis
strait; the latter has been for 12 years in tbe Arctic sea. The second
mate is William Morton, who was on the first Grinnell expedition, 1850-’!,
and with Dr Kane on his remarkable expedition of 1853-’4 and ’5. This
rviorton is the adventurer who, with the Esquimaux Hans, made the
sledge journey northward from Kane’s winter quarters, latitude 78° 37^
north, up to cape Constitution, where he discovered the renowned “ Open
Polar sea.”

The Esquimaux family, Joe, Hannah, and their little daughter Punny,
will accompan}’’ me back to the north. This family I brought to the
States in the fall of 1869, when I returned from my five-year vo5’age and
travels in the Arctic regions. The whole ship's company from the States
will consist of about 27 souls. The vessel is about 400 tons — a top-sail
schooner with auxiliary ijropeller. I think Government will send one
of her vessels as a transport to one of the higher settlements of Green-
land. By having this transport to convey provisions and stores, a great
confidence can be reposed in the resources of the expedition. IMyproposed
route is up along the west coast of Greenland to the latitude of 76° north ;
then I turn to the westward, striking into Jones sound. After a penetra-
tion of this water for about 150 miles discovery begins, when the prow of
J'olaris (the name of the vessel) will, if land and water will permit, he
>irged on to the north as far as practicable. It is quite probable that the
ves.sel cannot safely be advanced farther than latitude 80°, which will
leave a distance, of course, of 600 geographic miles to the Pole. The time
of arriving at latitude 80° will be about September 1 ; then a winter har-
bor will be sought for and vessel i)laced in it. The following sju-ing (of
1872) sledge j)arties will be organized and led on poleward. By sledging
and by boating— just as nature’s highway shall be found to be — tlie north
e.xtremity of the earth’s axis must be finally reached by the undersigned
and his party ; then my mi.ssion will have been i)erformed, and not till
then. I e.xpect to suc(!eed in accomplishing the ])urposes of this II. S.
North Polar Expedition within two and one-half years, yet it may take
live years. Every man that goes on this expedition innst understand
that if lu! goes it is with this full understanding that he will be faithful
and true to the expedition and to all that pertains to it to the (mkI if it
takes from two and a half to five years. I am confident, however, that
the purpo.se of the ex|)cdition will he acc<nnplished hy the end of two
and a lialf years from the 1st of .Inne ne.\t.

Yon are nixlonhtedly acquainted with the work that Sontag, theastron-
ijiner of Dr Kane’s expedition, |i(!rfornn‘<l. . . . Owing to the fact

310

SEALING SCHOONERS IN TUSCARORA DEEP

tliat Congress did not appropriate but half the money sum I desired for
tlie expedition, the salaries of all are far less than they should he; but it
is certain tliat if the objects of this expedition should he fully accom-
))lished every soul of it that shall have been energetic, faithful, and true
will on the return of the expedition he abundantly rewarded by our lib-
eral country through her noble-minded, appreciative U. S. Senatoi's and
Representatives. I have been thus assured by many of these Senators and
Representatives.

Yours, C. F. Hai.t.,

Commanding U. S. North Polar Expedition. ■

MINERAL PRODUCTION IN THE UNITED STATES

The United State.s Geological Survey has issued, under date of
August 1, a statement of the mineral production of the United
States in 1895 differing materially as to one or Uvo important prod-
ucts from its recently published statement, quoted from and com-
mented upon in the July number of the National Geographic
Magazine, the corrections being rendered necessary by the issu-
ance by the Director of the Mint of revised figures of the })ro-
duction of the precious metals. The production of silver is now
given as 55,727,000 ounces instead of 47,000,000 ounces, as in
the former statement, a supposed decrease of about two and one-
half million ounces giving place to an actual increase of over
(3,200,000 ounces. The production of gold is given as $46,610,000
instead of $47,000,000. The total production of minerals is
valued at $622,230,723 instead of $611,795,290, as previously
stated, the amount now found to have been produced during
1895 being nearly one-fifth greater than that of the preceding
year and exceeded in value only in 1891 and 1892.

REPORTS OF SEALING SCHOONERS CRUISING IN
THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF TUSCARORA DEEP IN
MAY AND JUNE, 1896

.\ resident of Hakodate, whose business connections are largely
with the sealing schooners that cross from British Columliia eacli
spring to hunt along the Japanese coasts, has given me, inform-
ally, several hitherto unpublished notes wdiich would definitely
indicate a submarine volcanic explosion or eruption in Tusca-
rora deep, and show' that unusual disturbances exi.sted there

SEALING SCHOONEES IN TUSCARORA DEEP

r,u

just before the great wave of June 15, 1896, devastated the
Japanese coast.

Tliroughout the month of INFay the sealers found unusual and
most baffling currents and cross-currents prevailing in their hunt-
ing grounds, which are at that season one hundred to two hun-
dred miles off the southeastern coast of the Kurile islands, that
volcanic range of islands or half-submerged peaks whose name
is literally “ The Smokers.” These hunting grounds lie directly
over and in line with that great depression (4,655 fathoms) of the
Pacific’s bed sounded by Admiral Belknap, of the U. S. S. Tamt-
rora, in 1872. exceeded only by the recent soundings of H. B. I\I. S.
Penguin of 5,155 fathoms in the southern Pacific. The seal-hunt-
ers in their small boats were separated from the schooners more
frequently and for longer periods than usual by these unexpected
currents, and if the pelagic sealers were not the most practical
and fearless men they might well have been superstitious. One
schooner, with all its sails reefed and its small boats out, set 72
miles to the southwest one calm, clear day. The following day
it set 60 miles to the southeast, and the third day, still close-
reefed, on a smooth sea it was borne 40 miles due north.

Another schooner, sending out its small boats to a herd of seals
feeding among some tide rips, saw the boats cross the tide rips
and, with oars resting, drift away to the northeast, while the wait-
ing schooner was rapidly carried to the southeast. The masters
of such vessels were puzzled b}^ these currents, and dead reckon-
ing was rarely verified by observations.

The temperature of the water is carefully watched b}’’ pelagic
sealers, as the variation of a few degrees either way will pre-
clude any chance of seals being found in a neighborhood, tlu)se
animals kee[)ing to one even-water climate in their migrations.
Several schooners found the water of unusually high tempera-
ture in places, and one ves.sel rei>orted taking temperatures from
48° to 218° Fahrenlieit in the course of a few miles’ sailing, this
during the second week of June, ddie frightened sealer- |)ut
about quickly, when, as he descril^ed it, the water was literally
boiling all around him.

The schooner OirloUa Cox, winch reached Hakodate June 25,
ten days after the gr(;at wave had struck the San-Rilai coast,
reported that when 2-50 miles out and sailing along the line of
the great trough of Tuscarora deej) it had sailed for two days
through floating pumice. Other schooners report(;d traces of
})uniice, and the gossi]) of the Victoria sealers, who visited

312

GEOGRAPHIC NOTES

Hakodate at the close of their hunting season, was all about the
unusual currents, the tide ri])S running like a wall, and the
unusually high temperature of the water at different places
along the line of the great trough in which Admiral Belknap
plumbed Tuscarora deep.

As all these sealing schooners winter at Victoria, British Co-
lumbia, it should he easy for those interested in volcanic phe-
nomena and deep-sea geography to personally gather the state-
ments and inspect the log hooks of the masters of these vessels.
The exact position of the floating pumice encountered hy the
Cnrlotta Cox would at least he an interesting item for future
dee[)-sea surveyors to note.

Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore.

The foregoing important statement has been received from Miss Scidmore since her
artlfle on pages 285-289 of this number was printed, as has also the information that
the great wave was from three to twelve and in places as much as thirty feet in height
when it broke upon the shores of the Hawaiian islands. The wave also reached the
California coast, and was five feet in height at Santa Cruz.

GEOGRAPHIC NOTES

NORTH AMERICA

C.\x.\D.\. Alining experts say that the Kootenai district of British Co-
lumbia promises to be the greatest gold-{)rodncing region in the world.
The population of Rossland, the principal mining camp of the district,
has increased during the last year from 300 to 5,000.

Newfoundland. The recent parliamentary elections in Canada and
the change of administration they have involved are considered to have
postponed the entrance of Newfoundland into the Dominion at least live
years.

SOUTH AMERICA

X RGENTiNA. The total number of immigrants who arrived in Argentina
in 1805 was 61,226, an increase of 6,506 on the preceding year. During
the first six months of 1896 the number landed was 30,900, of whom
21,329 were Italians, 6,088 Spaniards, 1,196 French, 407 Austrians, and
434 Germans.

EUROPE

Cyprus. Severe shocks of earthquake were experienced at Larnaka
and Limasol on June 29-30.

Russia. Extraordinary activity now prevails in Russian railway enter-
prises. A railway to the extreme north is expected to revive the ancient
trade of Archangel and the White sea.

United Kingdom. The receipts of the Manchester ship canal continue
to show a large increase on those of last year.

GEOGRAPHIC NOTES

olo

A movement has been inaugurated for celebrating at Bristol, in June,
1897, the 400th anniversarj’ of the discovery of North America by John
and Sebastian Cabot, who sailed from Bristol.

Franck. A monument to Lagree, the explorer, was unveiled at Grenoble
on August 16.

The population of France, according to the recent census, has been
officially declared to be 38,228,969, an increase of only 133,819 in live
years. The population is, in fact, practically stationary, there being but
one birth in each year to 1,500 inhabitants.

GER^rANv. In the hope of increasing the traffic through the Baltic
canal, it has been decided to reduce the tolls, the change to come into
effect September 1.

Four first-class ironclads, with a draught of 24 feet 7 inches, and thirty-
five other ships of war, all belonging to the German navy, recently passed
safely through the Baltic canal.

The foreign trade of the German empire is steadily increasing. The
total imports during the half year ending June 30, 1896, were 16,175,232
tons and the total exports 11,957,563 tons, as compared with 14,096,330
tons and 10,930,648 tons, respectively, during the corresponding period
of 1895. The values of both exports and imports likewise show a large
increase.

ASIA

SiBKRiA. The Ku-ssian government has finalh^ decided to make Vladi-
vostok a commercial port.

Burma. The Burma State Railway system, with nearly 1,000 miles of
line in operation, has been sold to a syndicate for £6,000,000.

China. The four sections of the commercial mission sent to China last
year by the Lyons Chamber of Commerce are expected to unite in Yun-
nan in November.

The coast at Hai-chau, in the northeast of the Chinese province of
Kiang-su, was visited by an earthquake wave on July 26. Several vil-
lages were destroyed, and it is estimated that 4,000 of the inhabitants
perished.

Turkestan. The Swedish traveler, M. Sven Iledin, reports the dis-
covery of a whole grouj) of hitherto unknown lake.s, to the east of the
Yarkand Tarim, at 40i° north latitude. Between the Khotan Daria and
the Kiria Daria he discovered two ancient cities, and further north he
met with large herds of wild camels. i\I. Iledin followed the Kiria Daria
as far as the jJace where it loses itself in the sands.

AFRICA

The first rail of the Uganda railway has been laid at Kilindini with
imposing ceremonies.

Work wilt begin immediately upon the construction of the third section
of the Beira railway, establishing communication between Fort Salisbury
ami the east coiust.

A journey in many resj>ects remarkable, but in none more than in its
rapidity, has just been complete<l by M. Versepuy, Baron de Romans,

314

GEOGRAPHIC NOTES

ami M. Sporck, who left Zanzibar on July 6, 1895, crossed the Nile on
January 19 followiufr, and arrived on the west coast by the first week in
August, having crossed the continent in the brief space of 13 months.

Kongo F hee State. The Kongo State railway has now reached Tumba,
187 kilometers from the starting point.

Morocco. Neither roads, canals, navigable rivers, nor railways exist
in jNlorocco, nor are they thought of. Foot couriers constitute the fastest
medium of communication.

Orange Free State. Dr Emil Holub, the well-known explorer, now
of Vienna, has received advices of the discovery of gold fields in the
( )range F ree State which it is anticipated will rival those of the Transvaal
in productiveness.

M ADAGASCAR. While there is no longer any open resistance to French
rule, Madagascar is in a condition of anarchy from one end to the other,
and only the towns occupied by troops are safe for Europeans.

Zanzibar. In a recent report of the British consul at Zanzibar atten-
tion is called to tbe decline in the imports from Great Britain. Un-
bleached cotton cloth is imported mainly from the United States, being
admittedly of better quality than Manchester productions of the same
price.

Transvaal. The first count of a census of population within a radius
of three miles of Johanuesbiirg gives a total of 102,714, consisting of 51,225
whites, 44,390 kallirs, and 7,093 half-breeds. Of the whites, 32,741 are
males and 18,484 females.

Egypt. An electric street railway has been opened in Cairo.

The numl>er of pieces of mail matter dealt with by the Egyptian post-
oliice in 1895 was 22.440,000, against 21,070,000 in 1894.

The annual overtlow of the Nile is two weeks late and great anxiety is
expressed with regard to the maize and rice crops.

At Kosheh, where a contingent of the Anglo-Egyptian army is await-
ing the advent of cooler weather before continuing its advance into the
interior, the mercury recently stood at 130° in the shade.

^Iauritius. In a recent lecture on “ Mauritius, Past and Present,” Sir •
Hubert Jerningham, the governor of the island, stated that if English
was the otficial and commercial language, French remained the language
of the home, and if gratitude for the numerous benefits bestowed by
England upon the community assured attachment to that country, the
heart of the old colonists still beats in their descendants.

AUSTRALASIA

The annual financial statements of the different Australasian govern-
ments nearly all show increa.sed revenues and substantial surpluses.

New South Wai.ks. It is pi'oposed by the colonial government that a
great Australasian exposition shall be held at Sydney in 1899, the ex-
hibits to be afterward sent to Paris.

Tasmania. The yield of gold during the June quarter amounted to
17,000 ounces, being an increase of 10,000 ounces as compared with the
corresponding period of last year.

THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION AT BUFFALO

315

Western Australia. The colonial government is promoting legisla-
tion authorizing a water supply for the gold fields, the extension of the
raihvaj^ system, and the improvement of docks and harbors. The premier
estimates a gold production of £7,000,000 per annum.

THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION AT BUFFALO

The forty-fifth meeting of the American Association for the Advance-
ment of Science was held at Buffalo, August 22-29. The attendance was
rather small, partly on account of limited local interest, only thirteen
Buffalonians being registered; yet in the number of investigators and
teachers of renown the meeting ranked well, and in general excellence
of the papers and discussions it was above the average, so that, despite
unfavorable business conditions and prospects, the meeting was successful.

Most of the contributions of interest to geographers were presented in
Section E. One of these was an elaborate paper on the “ Development
of the Physiography of California,” by J. Perrin Smith, in which succes-
sive stages in the growth of mountains and shajiing of valleys along the
Pacific slope were described and illustrated by landscapes and restorations.
Todd presented “ A Revision of the Moraines of Minnesota,” in which
these significant topographic features w'ere interpreted ; and I. C. White
described and discussed the “Origin of the High Terrace Deposits of
Monongahela River.” Of value to geographers, too, were Hovey’s papers
on “ The IMaking of Mammoth Cave ” and “ The Colossal Cavern.” Under
the title “ Sheetflood Erosion,” McGee defined the sheetflood as the logical
correlative of the .stream, jiroduced under conditions of volume, declivity,
and load tending to spread the flood over a wide belt instead of iiermit-
ting it to converge, and exiilained tbe anomalous geographic features of
southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico — rugged mountains
rising sharply from smoothly-planed and lightly-veneered baselevels — as
the product of sheetflood erosion, incidentally ])ointing out that the
rounded summits and divides, as well as certain broad and shallow stream-
ways in humid regions, represent similar agency. Collier Cobb’s “ Origin
of Topographic Features in North Carolina,” and Gulliver’s “Post-Cre-
taceous Grade-Plains in Southern New England ’’ dealt witli the land-foiins
of the Piedmont ju’ovince and its New England extension ; Taylor’s
“Notes on the Glacial Succession in Eastern Michigan” was largely a
study of land-forms, while Spencer’s j>aper on “ The .Sloi)es of the Drowned
Antillean Valleys” was a discussion of submarine toj)Ogra|)liy.

Two features of the meeting were of special interest : One of the ses-
sions of Section E was devoted to discussion of Niagara falls, with special
reference to the origin of river and cataract, and to tlie reading of tliis
most accurate of the geologic chronometers thus far known. To this
session Gilbert contributed tliree remarkably clear and conci.se papers
base<l on the season’s operations; Holley, Taylor, and Upham also made
communications on the subject, the first two resting on extendeil field
studies. Then, after the adjournment Friday evening, a day was devoted

31(3

DEATH OF G. BROWN GOODE

by the Association to an excursion to and abont the cataract ; and the
tliree ensning days were spent bj^ a group of working geologists in detailed
examination and snrvej's in the vicinity under Mr Gilbert’s guidance.

The second special feature was a celebration of the sixtieth anniversary
of Pi’ofessor James Hall’s service as State Geologist of New York. Vice-
President Emerson opened the session devoted to the occasion with an
ai)propriate address on the part of the Association ; Professor Le Conte
followed, speaking on behalf of the Geological Society of America ; McGee
presented a foi’inal address on “James Hall, Founder of American Strati-
graphic Geology,” and Professor John M. Clarke read an appreciative
memoir entitled “ Professor Hall and the Survey of the Fourth District.”
Stevenson, Hovey, Fairchild, and others spoke informally on the more
personal side of Hall’s connection with the State, while Hon. T. Guilford
Smith littingly addressed the meeting on behalf of the State, and espe-
cially of the Regents of the University of New York. The venerable
geologist terminated a much-needed vacation and crossed the continent
to attend the meeting arranged in his honor ; and two days later he was
in the field, with hammer and collecting-bag, guiding explorations for
rock gas and oil in western New York.

DEATH OF G. BROWN GOODE

On September 0, Dr George Brown Goode, Assistant Secretary of the
Smithsonian Institution and Director of the United States National Mu-
seum, an active member of the National Geographic Society, and author
of an article in the August number of this IMagazine, died of bronchial
pneumonia at Lanier Heights, Washington, D. C. Dr Goode was one of
the foremost biologists of his generation, his work in ichthyology being
specially important, and he was the leading museum maker of the coun-
try, if not of the world. With the support of Baird at the outset and of
Langley later, he was practically the creator of the National Museum.
He contributed much, also, to the organization and success of the United
States Fish Commission, of which he was for a time Superintendent. In
addition to his strictly scientific and administrative work, he was a lead-
ing member of several jiatriotic and historical societies and did more
ju-obably tluin any other man of his generation toward elevating the
aims of the.se societies and introducing scientific methods in their work.
Altliough cpiiet and unobtrusive, he was possessed of exceeding energy
and endurance, as his splendid accomplishments testify; at the same
time his simplicity of manner and sweetness of disposition were such as
to harmonize every circle into which he entered. As a leader and har-
monizer he was perhaps the most influential man in the great scientific
colony in the National Capital, and in every connection he served most
successfully as a medium between specialists and the imblic. His un-
timelj" death, in his forty -sixth year, is a serious blow to the Smithsonian
Institution and a heavy loss to American science — indeed, in view of his
many connections with i)ublic interests, it may well be regarded as a
national calamity. \V’ J M.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE

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THE REASON WHY

the tourist, traveler, or invalid returns to California is because
its attractions are greater than those of Europe. Its climate is
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Mr. Marcus Baker, U. S. Geological Survey.

Capt. John R. Bartlett, U. S. N.

Dr. Francis Brown, Union Theol. Seminary.

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Dr. E. L. Corthell, C. E., New York.

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Hon. William E. Curtis, ex-Director of the
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Dr. Wni. H. Dali, Smithsonian Institution.

Dr. George Davidson, President of the Geo-
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Mr. Wm. M. Davis, Professor of Physical Geog-
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Dr. David T. Day, Chief of the Div. of Mining
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Mr. J. S. Diller, U. S. Geological Survey.

H>»n. John W. Foster, ex-Secretary of State.

Mr. Henry Gannett, Chief Geographer, U. S.
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Mr. G. K. Gilbert, U. S. Geological Survey.

Gen. A. W. Greely, U. S. A., Chief Signal
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Dr Mark W. Harrington. President of the Uni-
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Uieut. Everett Hayden, U. S. N., Secretary of
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Dr. Emil Holub, Vienna, Austria.

Dr. Sheldon Jackson, U. S. Commissioner of
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Mr. Willard D. Johnson, U. S. Geol. Survey.

Mr. Mark B. Kerr, C. E.

Mr. George Kennan.

Prof. William Libbey, Jr., Princeton Coll., N. J.

Prof. E. McClure, University of Oregon. '

Prof. W J McGee, Bureau of American Eth-
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Mr. John E. McGrath, U. S. Coast Survey.

Admiral R. W. Meade, U. S. N.

Dr. T. C. Mendenhall, President of the Poly-
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Dr. C. Hart Merriam, Ornithologist and Main-
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Hon. John H. Mitchell, U. S. S.

Prof. W. ly. Moore, Chief of Weather Bureau.

Mr. Frederick H. Newell, Chief Hydrographer
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Mr. Herbert G. Ogden, U. S. Coast Survey.

lyieut. Robert E- Peary, U. S. N.

Mrs. Robert E. Peary.

Hon. Geo. C. Perkins, U. S. S.

Mr. William H. Pickering, Professor of Astron-
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Major John W. Powell, Director of the Bureau
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Prof. W. B. Powell, Superintendent of Schools,
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Hon. John R. Procter, Pre.sident of the U. S.
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Mr. Israel C. Russell, Professor of Geology in
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Dr. N. S. Shaler, Professor of Geology in Har-
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Commander Charles D. Sigsbee, Hydrographer
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Mi.ss Eliza Ruhamah Sciilniore.

Commander Z. L- Tanner, U. S. N.

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Mrs. P'annie B. Ward.

Mr. Bailey Willis, U. S. Geological Survey.

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THE OCTOBER NUMBER

win contain an illustrated article on

CALIFORNIA,

Bv THE HON. GEORGE C. PERKINS,
United States Senator ;

ALSO

■\ -'v:

THE ECONOMIC ASPECTS

OF SOIL EROSION,

Bv DR N. S. SHALER,

Professor of Geology in Harvard University and Dean of the
Scientific School ;

AND

SOME RECENT NOTABLE

EXPLORATIONS IN ASIA.

JUDD & DETWEILER, PRINTERS, WASHINGTON, D. C.

^oL VII

OCTOBER, 1896

The

No. 10

AN ILUtJStRATED

1/ ^ \

A. W. GRE

Honojrary Editor : JOHN &TDE

Hotnorary Associate Editors

McGEE ELIZA ITOSAJilAH SCI^MO^iB

contents'

CALirORNIA. SEN.^TOR OEO. C. parkins 317

THE EC5>N0MIC ASPECTS SOIL EROSION. DR N. S. SHALER 328
THE NANSEN Volar expedition. consul ERNEST A. MAJ^

With map.

ICE-CLIFFS ON THE KOWAK RIVER.

RECENT HYDROGRAPHIC WORK.

MISCELLANEA

LIEUT. J. C, CANTWELL

339

345

347

348

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ORGANIZED, JANUARY, 1888

Pricsident

GARDINER G. HUBBARD

Vice-Presidents

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WILLIAM II. DAI.L 0. HART MERRlAM

G. K. (ilLBERT HERBERT G. OGDEN

' Treasurer

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R EC( ) R D I N( i S KCR ET A R Y

EVERETT HAYDEN

M A NADERS

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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE
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THE

National Geographic Magazine

VoL. VII OCTOBER, 1896 No. 10

CALIFORNIA

By the Hon. George C. Perkixs,

United States Senator

The Californian is never at a loss for some good words for his
state. If he is a pioneer he has wrought at the foundations and
rejoices in the rise and progress of a commonwealth having now
more than fourteen hundred thousand people. The Argonaut
did not much concern himself wdth the geographical greatness
of the future state. He did not even know that there would be
a state. There was the great outlying territory of Alta Califor-
nia, stretching along for more than nine degrees of latitude and
broadening inland to the crests of the Sierra 250 miles or more,
an area that today contains 156,000 square miles, or more than
99,000,000 acres, constituting the second largest state in the
Union. He knew little of the coastline, with its indentations a
thousand miles in extent, as he sailed into that magnificent hay
after his voyage around cape Horn, and he knew less if, after the
long trail overland, he looked down from the top of the Sierra on
the great valleys that lay between the mountains and the ocean.

The Spanish dominion, which lasted for 53 years, did not con-
cern him much, since it left few vestiges of civilization. Mex-
ican rule in Alta California was little more than a continuation
of that of the mother country. Tlie mi.ssions founded by the
Catholic fatliers con.stituted a chain of settlements from the bay
of San Diego to tlie northern limit of the bay of San Francisco,
each one making a little garden si>ot in the uncultivated waste.
They founded no towns and built no cities. Tliese missions
in the height of tlieir prosperity contained 24,000 Indian neo-
phytes, possessing several hundred thousand cattle, 135,000

318

CALIFORNIA •

sheep, and 16,000 horses, and harvesting annually about 75,000
bushels of grain. Their decadence began when they were secu-
larized by the act of the Mexican Congress, and that decline has
not been arrested to this day. In the solitary places near where
the fathers wrought there are now flourishing towns and cities,
and the picturesque ruins of these old missions are among the
treasures of the land.

The new era in the history of California began on July 7, 1846,
when the American flag was hoisted at Monterey by Commo-
dore Sloat. The discovery of gold followed on January 19,
1848, a month before the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was
signed and five months before Americans had acquired their
title to California. Henceforth there were to be a new people,
new laws, and new institutions. A few months after the discov-
ery of gold 20,000 ])ioneers started on the long overland journey
from the banks of the Missouri to California. Five thousand fell
by the way through disease and hardships or were slaughtered by
Indians. Scarcely less than 20,000 went by water, either around
cape Horn or by way of the isthmus of Panama. In a few
months 100,000 Argonauts were in California. Twenty-five
years after that date $1,000,000,000 of gold had been taken out
of the mines of the state. A stream of gold was poured into the
Federal Treasury during the civil war, and there was another
blessed outflow into the treasury of the sanitary commission for
the relief of friend and foe alike, of the Gray as well as of the Blue.

For the first twenty years in the history of California the only
mode of transportation after leaving the navigable rivers and
the coast, aside from walking, was by stagecoach, wagon, pack-
mules, and broncho horses. In Sacramento and Marysville, the
two principal steamboat landings, it was a daily occurrence to
have depart at break of da}’’ fifty or more stagecoaches and
wagons loaded with passengers bound for the different mining
towns and camps in the foothills and mountains. The I'eturn
stages were so scheduled that they arrived back late in the after-
noon or evening, and, with fresh exchange of horses, would be
ready to leave again the following morning.

The earl}’’ stage-driver in California was perhaps the most
unique and was certainly one of the most important j^ersonages
in the community. His social standing and influence were rated
in about the following ratio: For a two-horse stage-driver to
those of the sheriff ; a four-horse stage-driver to a member of the
legislature; a six-horse stage-driver to a mayor or governor

CALIFORNIA

319

while the driver of an eight-horse stagecoach upon a popular
route through several flourishing mining camps Avould not have
surrendered his place, Avith its influence and dignity, for a seat
in either house of Congress. The teamster also Avas a very im-
jAortant personage, and the driver of an eight- or ten-bell mule
team, Avith a single line, considered his position and importance
quite equal to those of the superintendent of a railroad. I sjjeak
advisedly, for I have been honored Avith the experience.

Many of the richest mining camps could be reached only by
long and circuitous routes, folloAving up the forks and branches
of rivers and creeks or over pathless hills and mountains. There
being no roads or trails, the only manner in which su]Aplies of
provisions, clothing, and tools could be sent into the camp Avas
upon pack-mules. These animals Avere loaded down Avith from
250 to 400 pounds of freight, which they carried upon their backs
Avith apparent ease,craAvling around steep points,OA^er sliding earth
and rock, Avhere it seemed almost imjjossible for a man to walk.
The pack-trains numbered from 50 to 100 mules in a train, each
one in a single file, folloAvingthe “ bell leader,” Avhich Avas usually
a broken-doAvn, Avhite horse that carried no load, and Avas di-
rected by the OAvner of the pack-train, Avho also had a half-dozen
or more Mexican vaqueros to assist in loading and unloading
the mules ; these brought up the rear of the caravan and saAv
that none of the train stopped by the Avay. Arrived at its desti-
nation, the cargo of freight Avas delivered at the mining camp,
and the return train took back to the valley letters for the dear
ones far aAva}" and gold dust to the merchants to pa}^ for the
merchandise and freight.

But no prosperous state Avas ever built over gold and silver
mines. These Avere only a single element of future prosperity.
The Argonaut had not come td build, but to find treasure for
another and, as he thought, a better land ; but these men Avere
unconsciously making ready for the neAV commonAvealth. Civili-
zation could not survive Avithout the state. There must be hiAV
and order, security for life and }>roperty. There must be organ-
ized society, or there Avould be chaos. Then the pioneers be-
came builders. The bad element must be restrained and the
good must have protection. There could be no ])ermanent
society Avithout homes. California Avas no longer a barren land.
Pioneers here and there had cultivated a fcAV acres as a sort of
heartsease. They had begun to make ])laces beautiful as the
garden of the gods. The land seemed to look uj) and smile AA’hen

320

CALIFORNIA

touched by the various implements of cultivation. There was
verdure in the desert. Wheat was no longer brought from Chili
for bread. The wheat-fields of California began to wave in the
morning and evening breeze.

The discovery of the agricultural capabilities of California was
greater than the discovery of gold. Men ceased to talk about a
worthless country. The land was vital with the elements of
hidden fertility. There came a day when six hundred ships
were not enough to carry the surplus wheat crop of the state to
foreign lands. The whole country from not producing sufficient
to feed 100,000 k\ gonauts at home was now producing enough
to feed more than a million people abroad, and the capacity of
the state today is sufficient to sustain ten millions.

Nor has the mineral industry become obsolete. If the testi-
mony of mining experts is to be taken, there is more gold in the
placers and quartz mines of the state than all that has ever been
taken out; but the products of agriculture, of which there was
once no })romise, have annually for more than ten years past
exceeded in value one hundred million dollars, although they
have as yet reached only the first stage of development, while
the annual production of gold and silver amounts to less than
twenty million dollars.

But these are not all the marvelous industrial changes that
have been wrought. The Mission Fathers adopted a primitive
system of agriculture. They selected stations near the ocean, ■
where the moisture was greatest and where there were living
streams for artificial irrigation. They cultivated no crops that
they could not water when the rains had ceased. They brought
the olive and the vine from Spain and naturalized them in their
gardens. The orange from Seville also sometimes bloomed and
fruited there, but there were no blossoming orchards be3mnd,
and no vineyards ripened the grai>e under the long summer sun.
The native Mexican cared for none of these things ; he was con-
tent with his jerked beef and his tortillas. Fruit was reserved
as the luxury of those who cultivated it in eonsecrated gardens.
It has been recorded that many a pioneer was ready to exchange
a silver dollar for an ap})le. The orchard and the vineyard be-
came a necessity. What was good in the old homestead ought
to be good about the new one. Seeds were sent in letters; cut-
tings and small fruit trees came as the most precious freight of
the early steamers by way of the isthmus. Orchards began to
blossom in the valleys, and the vine made man}’- little patches

CALIFORNIA

321

of green on the hillsides. The wild vine was found climbing
many a tree in the ravines and along the brooklets of the Coast
range, and it could not be otherwise than that better ones would
take kindh’' to the soil and give abundant fruitage. The best
were brought from Spain and the wine districts of southern
France. The mongrel and fox}’’ grapes that suited eastern pal-
ates did not win any place in the viticulture of the state. The
motto of the Californian everywhere is, “Get the best.” After
the vineyards of Spain and France had been laid under contri-
bution, princely Tokays and mellow Muscats, with more than
twenty other semitropical varieties, began to crowd the home
markets. The wine grape climbed the hills and made the claret
that was sold under a French label to thousands of eastern con-
sumers. Eighteen million gallons of wine were the iiroduct of
a single year. Grapes from these vineyards were shipped to
eveiy large city of the Union. INlore than 150,000 acres are now
covered with vines in California, and the average product for an
acre is nearly double the average product of the vineyards of
France and Spain. For many large areas the average iDi’oduct
is 12,000 pounds an acre, while in special instances the product
reaches 20,000 pounds per acre. Beyond all other states of the
Union, California is the land of the vine. More than Uvo thirds
of the arable land of the state is suitable for viticulture and other
fruit culture. There is more land in this one state suitable for
the production of raisin grapes than there is adapted to that
culture in Spain. When the Muscat began to hang in golden
clusters and to turn into raisins on the vines, there was the first
suggestion of the great raisin crop that could ultimately su])ply
every market of this country. That the raisin product now falls
short of tins is because of the keen competition with the crop of
Spain, that is produced for less tlian one-half the outla}'’ for labor
that the same production costs in California ; but layer for layer
and box for box, these domestic producers challenge for quality
the best in the world. A small industry became a great one by
]>eneficent i)rotection. More is the ])ity thatany ]>art of itsbould
have been withdrawn until these pioneers had fought out the
battle for every home market in the land. The raisin ])roduct
of the state last year was not less than 54,000,000 ])ounds. Not
only is California golden-sandaled, but the very sun in the
heavens turns her fruits into gold.

Such a miracle of transformation was wrought in southern
California as had iu)t been witnessed beyoml her borders. The

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dry land that had become dust under the hoofs of famishing
cattle took on 2:>erpetual verdure when the streams were trailed
over it, and the orange blossomed and fruited under a semi-
tropical sun. Towns sprang up and cities were built largely
from the proceeds of this citrus industry. Water was impounded
in the mountains or was recovered from sunken streams in the
plains. The desert became more than a garden. A great citrus
ju’oduct soon to rival that of Florida was the promise of the
future. How has it been fulfilled ? More than 8,000 carloads
of oranges were shipped overland as the i')roduct of the season
of 1894-’95. Not less than 14,000 acres have been planted with
lemon trees, with the certainty that when the maximum of this
branch of citrus culture shall have been reached, this fruit will
compete for the first place in all the leading home markets of
the United States. Of deciduous fruits altogether 4,435 carloads
w^ere shipped overland in 1895.

The olive took kindly to the soil. There was, in fact, no pro-
duct of Si)ain or of any other country about the Mediterranean
that could not be duplicated in California. The fig ripens as it
does about the borders of the Adriatic, while of prunes more than
32,000,000 pounds represent the annual production of the state.
With wine to make his heart glad, oil to make his face to shine,
and honey to sweeten his lips, the Californian may speak with
enthusiasm of all this wealth of resources. Then there is $100,-
000,000 invested in the dairies of the state, and 40,000,000 pounds
or more represents the beet-sugar product of the state for the
season of 1894-’95 — an amount larger than the aggregate pro-
duction of all the rest of the country.

Passing from these details of production, it remains to be
noted that California is the most ])icturesque state in the Union.
This wealth of scenery can never be obscured. There is the great
Sierra range stretching along the eastern boundary for 500 miles,
having a width of 70 miles and summits ranging from 7,000 to
more than 14,000 feet. Nineteen of these mountain peaks rise
to the height of 10,000 feet, and seven of them rise still higher,
until mount Whitney wears the crown, rising into the heavens
to the height of 14,900 feet. Some of these summits are still
warm with volcanic heat. There they stand, white-hooded, with
glaciers moving and grinding along their flanks, as if a thousand
years were but as yesterday, letting loose the mountain streams
that go singing down to the sea. There is the divine sculpture
of the rocks, the lakes that mirror these eternal ramparts, the

CALIFORNIA

323

great forests that sing in storm and sigh in the summer breeze,
and the groups of sequoia overmatching in height and circum-
ference any other conifers on the globe. There the clouds come
down and kiss the mountains, and the lesson is renewed every
day of eternal repose and majesty and strength. There is the
fir tree with its balsam, clean and sanitary, inviting the invalid
to come for his healing; there are the cedars more stately than
those of Lebanon, and pines that were dropping their cones long
before the first white man had set foot upon the continent.

How little of all this reserve of natural wealth can be set forth
by inventory or speech ! Hardly an impression has been made
on these virgin forests. There is the great sanitary district, free
from dust, with pure water flowing out of the granite, and an
atmosphere as sweet as the breath of heaven. These mountains
are not solitary, but are rich in floral and animal life. There
butterflies flit, and birds sing, and huge grizzly bears come out
of caves and caverns. There the mariposa lily iinfolds its petals,
and the snow plant, red as blood, springs in a day mysteriously
out of the margin of the receding banks of snow. There the
lakes repose in bowls with mountains for rims. There, 8,000
feet above the level of the sea, is lake Tahoe, more than 20 miles
long and 1,500 feet deep, and more than five hundred lakelets
mirror the frowning battlements that rise above them. Here
are the great reservoirs that send their waters down to fertilize
the hot valleys below. More than 4,000,000 acres of land are
irrigated by these mountain streams, and made among the most
productive in the state. Millions more will be watered from the
great reservoirs that are held in check by these great forests, so
that there is neither wasting flood nor withering drought.

In that great mountain range there is one of the seven wonders
of the world. From the ends of the earth men come to see the
awful grandeur of Yosemite, which no artist can paint and no
pen can adequately describe. They will look up to the mighty
fall wliich, in three leaps, descends 2,600 feet to the floor of the
valley. They will see the great Vernal and Nevada falls j)Our-
ing out their miglity floods into the valley below. Standing on
the floor of this valley, 4,000 feet above the level of the sea, the
tourist looks up to these granite walls, varying in height from
1,200 to 4,000 feet, hears the roar of the great cataracts, sees tho
awful battlements where in the winter the snow banners lloat
from their to|)s; sees the Bridal Veil lloating over a vertical wall
and falling for nearly a thousand feet; watches the rainbows as

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CALIFORNIA

tliey are set in this veil by the slant rays of the setting sun, and
walks through this valley of wonderland six miles long, himself
wondering whether by some mighty convulsion of nature the
crust of the earth has fallen sheer down 4,000 feet, cleaving the
granite on either side as it went, or whether the glaciers have
plowed and eroded, j)laning and polishing the granite on either
side, until Yosemite today is one of the sublime spectacles of the
world. Cathedral s{)ires and domes are there for his worship
and the meadows are carpeted for his coming. Out of the valley
a little way he will come upon groves of sequoia, the largest of
which he will find by actual measurement to be 350 feet high
and more than 30 feet in diameter. Away to the north in the
same great Sierra range is mount Shasta, 14,442 feet high, wear-
ing its eternal mantle of white as if set there as a great white
throne for the coming judgment of the world.

Nor does this wealth of the picturesque end here. There is
the Coast range that rims the great valleys on the ocean side,
broken here and there, but extending parallel with the Sierra
for hundreds of miles. For a part of the way there is an inner
coast range inclosing such beautiful valleys as the Santa Clara,
Sonoma, and Napa, presenting a series of landscapes that are
unsurpassed on the Pacific coast for quiet })icturesque effect.
Here the apricot and the prune come to perfection, and the vine-
yards that creep up the mountains, in some places to their sum-
mits, produce the most luscious of all the table grapes that are
sent late in the season to New York and other eastern markets.

It is in that part of the Coast range extending from Monterey
bay to the northern border of Mendocino county (a distance of
about 300 miles and averaging about 25 miles in breadth) and
only there in the whole world that the redwood, sequoia semper-
virens, is found, the first in commercial value of all the trees in
California and, for the area covered, ])robably the most valuable
timber tree in the United States. It belongs to the cedar family,
lacking the ])ungent odor of the white cedar, but surpassing all
others of this family in symmetry of form and in size, which, in
some instances, is l)ut little less than the related species, the
sequoia gif/anlea, which is found nowhere else but on the western
slope of the Sierra in isolated groves at elevations of from 3,000
to 5,000 feet. These redwood trees frequently attain an eleva-
tion of 200 feet and a diameter of from 10 to 12 feet. The aver-
age is something less. During the past season a redwood tree,
yielding 48,000 feet of merchantable lumber, or a full cargo for

CALIFORNIA

325

a schooner of 125 tons, was cut by a lumberman in Mendocino
county. One of the redwood trees, known as the Fremont tree,
in the group near Santa Cruz, is 275 feet high and is 19 feet in
diameter six feet above the ground. In the hollow of this tree
a family some years ago found a comfortable residence for an
entire winter. It was in or near this grove that Fremont en-
camped before the conquest of California had been fully made.
This great timber district is within the humid belt of California,
and all the picturesque valle}^s that extend along the base of
these wooded mountains have a network of living streams that
find their way to the sea. The valleys are dotted with beautiful
towns and the landscape is a succession of vineyards and
orchards. This redwood, besides its extensive use for the in-
terior finish of houses, is everywhere admired for its natural
color tones and is now in quest by Europeans for ornamental
use. The pine and the fir tree, so common in California, are
denizens of man}^- countries, but the redwood makes here the
one exclusive timber belt of its kind in the world.

The Sierra and the parallel Coast range inclose the great and
continuous valley of the San Joaquin and the Sacramento, 350
miles long and with a breadth of about 40 miles, making an
aggregate area of about 14,000 square miles. Forty-five years
ago the greater part of the land in the San Joaquin valley could
have been bought at $1.25 an acre. Thirt}^-five years ago there
were thousands of acres which the Government had offered at
the minimum price that found no buyers. The parched and
desolate valle}^ la}'’ there at the base of the mighty Sierra, adown
which the mountain streams descended, but made no fruitful
fields. Today there are flourishing cities and towns, vineyards
and orchards, and great wheatfields. From that valley enough
raisins were ])roduced this year to supply two-thirds of the con-
sumption of the whole country. From this and the related val-
leys 9,000 carloads of oranges and 400,000 cases of lemons will
this season go forward to Eastern markets. Add to this ]>roduct
not less than 4,000 tons of raisins, and we come to see the rela-
tion of all this wealth of production of the great mountain ranges
which send their streams down to fertilize this great valley.
From the hot plains men look u]) to these snow-clad mountains
and know that the reservoirs will never fail, and that the winter
gales that sing in the toj)S of the hr trees and smite the giant
sequoia serve best to make eternal spring in the valley helow.
The San .Joaquin from the south and the Sacramento from the

326

CALIFORNIA

nortli flow through the length of these valleys and enter the
northern end of the great hay of San Francisco, an inland water
35 miles long and averaging 8 miles in breadth. There great
navies ride at anchor, contending peacefully for some of the
richest commerce of the world.

There is one other particular in which the natural wealth of
California surpasses that of any other state. There are more
than one hundred mineral springs, that together po.ssess all tlie
remedial qualities that are found in the most notable mineral
springs of Europe. Hardly more than half of the whole num-
ber that are known to exist in the state have ever had any
scientific description. All known minerals that have any heal-
ing qualities are held in solution in these waters. Some of these
springs have more than local fame for their curative effects.
Sulphur, iron, arsenic, and soda are sometimes found in a single
group of springs, as at the geysers, where the waters boil and
seethe and roar, sending up clouds of steam day and night, as if,
after the spent volcanic forces, the bedevilment of nature was pro-
longed for the entertainment of tourist and stranger. Wherever
one may go, in all the length and breadth of the state, the series
of striking pictures never fails. Nothing is tame or insignificant ;
nothing, from the winter bloom of gardens, with all the affluence
of color and })erfume, to the mountains that are tipped with gold
and purple as the sun sinks into the Pacific.

In one other particular California has greater natural wealth
than any other state. Not elsewhere in all the Union are there
so many climates. No non-resident ever quite gets to the bottom
of this mystery. He will read of trains beleagured by snow-
drifts in the mountains, and on the same page of almond and
orange orchards in bloom ; of ice that is cut out in solid blocks
on mountain lakes, and of the mercury that marks 75 degrees of
heat in some other ])lace ; of men in overcoats in San Francisco
in Jul}', and of the mercuiy that has gone up to 100 degrees in
some of the interior valleys. The mean temperature of San
Francisco for the whole year is 54 degrees, the means for the
four seasons being 54, 57, 56, and 50 degrees, a difference of only
seven degrees for the entire year. There is a coast climate, an
interior valley climate, and a mountain climate, with a great
number of subdivisions. Going north ten miles to the small
town of San Rafael there is a difference in. the summer climate
of not less than 10 degrees. Riding for two hours by rail from
the coast inland to the San Joaquin valley the difference will

CALIFORNIA

327

be not less than 35 degrees at midsummer. On the inland side
of the Coast range, as in the Santa Clara valley, for instance, the
heat of the summer is greater by several degrees than on the
ocean side. The ocean, the Coast range, the great interior val-
leys, and the vast Sierra will account for many of these varia-
tions of climate. A well-known author has written a book about
“ Our Italy ” in southern California. Where there are all the
climates of Italy and Spain, the resident onl}^ encounters the
perplexity of choice. There are also the same variations of
moisture, ranging for a }'ear from 8 inches of rainfall up to 60
inches, according to the geographical situation which one may-
choose, and these extremes within the limit of 200 miles.

And better than mountain and valley, and all that goes to
make a picturesque state, is that system of public education
which is giving instruction to more than two hundred thousand
}’’outh, and is crowned by two great universities with doors freely
opened to every youth who is qualified to enter. California was
admitted to the Union after a long and eventful struggle. Her
constitution, framed by men from the North and the South, dedi-
cated the land to freedom. The pioneers had staked their all
for law and order as the very corner-stone of an enduring state.
Isolated by nearly two thousand miles from the great family of
states, the very Stars and Stripes that Avaved over them gave
them a passionate longing for recognition. When the neAvs of
admission came, a tumultuous shout Avent up to the heavens
amid jubilant songs and tears. The pioneers Avho embraced
that day kneAV no country hut the Union ; nor have they knoAvn
any other since tliat day. For forty-five years they have cele-
brated the anniversary of admission, accentuating it as no other
state has done. They haA'e stamped it as a legal holiday — the
one day of jubilee AA'herein love of a particular state takes the
higher interpretation of love for the Union. A generation horn
on the soil rejoices in the designation of “ Native Sons ” as tlie
richest birthright and lieritage that any land can give.

This is California, the Keystone state in the great Empire tliat
is looming up on the Pacific.

THE ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF SOIL EROSION

By Dr N, S. Shaler,

Professor of Geology in Harvard University and Dean of the Lawrence
Scientific School

The old view that the earth was firm set and that on it we could
build “ for aye ” has gone the way of many ancient opinions.
In every region which geologists have investigated they have
had occasion to note many and profound alterations in the form
of the surface which have taken place since man has occupied
the earth. The}" have come to recognize the fact that man him-
self is, through his arts, particularly those of agriculture, one of
the great agents of change, and that through these interferences
with the course of nature the operation of many foz’ces has been
greatly increased in energy. This understanding has extended
beyond the class of special students of earth phenomena. M"e
find, indeed, the ablest essay as to the influence of man on ter-
restrial conditions written by one who approached the subject
from the standpoint of the historian. So far as I am aware, no
geologist has yet undertaken to consider this matter with refer-
ence at once to its scientific aspect and its economic importance.
I therefore propose to take up the processes of land erosion from
the point of view of the geologist, and to tz’ace the influence of
their actions upon the formation and izreservation of the soil.
In the treatment of this subject we shall he led into that im-
portant but as yet unrecognized branch of national economy
which relates to the preservation of the tillage values of various
countries.

In dealing with any group of geological features, it is well to
consider at the outset the origin and mode of application of the
energy that has served to give them shape. 'We may therefore
begin our task with a brief account of the forces which operate
in the jn-ocess of erosion. So far as regards their origin, these
forces are essentially simple. They all substantially depend
upon solar radiation. Only secondarily and in a very unim-
portant way are the}'' due to subterranean action or to the attrac-
tions of the sun and moon, which give rise to the tides. The
average amount of heat received by a square foot of the earth’s

32S

THE ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF SOIL EROSION

329

surface eacli year is sufficient to lift a pound of matter to a
height of many thousand feet. If all this heat could be con-
verted into dynamic energy and applied to rending rock, such
as granite, into sand-like material, the effect would be to break
up the rocks in a very rapid manner. It is likel}’^ that the pro-
cess of destruction would go on at the rate of several feet a year.
Fortunately for the earth, this work is so organized that only a
small part of this energy actualh’- enters into the j)rocesses which
bring about wearing. By far the greater portion is fended off, in
ways that we shall have to note, and sent upon other errands.

We shall now consider the ways in which excessive erosion is
avoided, and thus be led to see how the remnant of the forces is
applied to such w’ork. When the tide of solar energy strikes
our sphere, somewhere near one-half thereof is more or le.ss
directly intercepted by the atmos})here, and does not penetrate
to the lower realm of rock and water, but goes away again into
space. Of tliat which comes to what is commonly called the
surface of the earth, again the greater i>art quickly flies away by
radiation into the realms of space. If the air ])ermitted the
egress of heat as easily as it does the ingress of that form of
motion the earth would never acquire the relatively high and
tolerably stable temperatures which make it fit for organic life or
for that work of erosion which, as we shall see hereafter, is inti-
mately as.sociated with the existence of all proce.sses of develop-
ment. If we trust the reckonings of certain eminent ])h}'sicists,
this sphere would under such conditions remain at the tempera-
ture of space, or some hundred degrees below zero on the Fahren-
heit scale. Owing, however, to a nice adjustment of terrestrial
conditions, the air, ])rincipally through the moisture it contains,
hinders the outward motion of heat a little more than it does its
incoming. It is in a small way a trap serving to retain the tem-
])erature. Thus the surface is in general maintained in a some-
what warmer state than that of the air. In this interesting
condition of affairs we are now to find the origin of those j)ro-
cesses which effect erosion.

Owing to the warmth which the sunshine gives alike to land
and sea, the atmosi)here next those surfaces becomes consider-
ably heated and thereby expanded. 'I'his ])rocess leads to the
formation of an ascending air current, which may be of a local
nature, aj)pearing as in dust-whirls, water-spouts, cyclones, or
hurricanes, all exhiliiting a spinning, upward movement of a
temporary and migratory character ; or the jvseending movement

330

THE ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF SOIL EROSION

may take the shape of the great tropical belt of ascending air —
that vast, permanent, slit-like- chimney which extends almost
completely around the earth in the tropical zone. Whether these
ascending currents have the character of the spinning storms or
the great permanent tropical upcast, their effect is to put the air
in motion. Through them volumes of the atmosphere are con-
stantly set into currents of swaying movement, the result being
that winds (variable so far as created by the cyclone groups or
tolerably constant Avhen due to the tropical upcast) are brought
about. These winds, of sufficient energy to have distinct geo-
logical value in a direct or indirect way, appear to be constantly
at work at all times and at all parts of the earth’s surface, except
during the long Avinter nights in the realm about either pole.

The simplest geological Avork of the Avinds is that Avhich is
brought about by their friction upon the AA^ater surfaces of the
earth. For our purpose the important result of this friction is
the formation of Avaves or undulations of Avater, in Avhich are
stored the energy Avhich the Avinds expended in their making.
In their greater form these Avaves may have a length of seA^eral
miles, a Avidth of a thousand feet or more, and a height from
trough to crest of fifty or sixty feet. Such a Avave may store
more energy than can be applied at one time by the guns of the
greatest Avarship. Gathering their poAver from a long-continued
storm Avind, these Avaves can roll on for hundreds of miles after
they have passed beyond the field of air Avhich set them in
motion. So long as Avaves move over a deep sea they have no
geological value. The greater part of them die out, generally
converting the energy Avhich they represent into heat, that is
given to the Avater or to the air. AMien, hoAvever, the surges enter
a part of the sea Avhich is relatively shallow, they begin to do
erosive AVork. In a depth of one thousand feet the higher Avaves
drag a little on the bottom, brushing the sea floor lightly in a
manner that may move the finer sediment. At a depth of tAvo
hundred and fift}^ feet the movement is strong enough to sweep
small, coarse sand toAvard the shore, and Avith each further step
in the shalloAving the vigor of the scouring action increases until
as the Avave rises in the Avail of the surf the rush has something
like the fury of an avalanche, Avhirling before it eveiything that
is not closely knit to the surface over Avhich it is moving.

As the Avave comes into shalloAV Avater, and in proportion to
the dragging action Avhich it exercises on the bottom, the surge
becomes to a certain extent Avorn out ; it shrinks in size, so that

THE ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF SOIL EROSION

331

rarely, if ever, do the great waves of the wide ocean attain tlie
continental shores. The decay of the wave is due to the application
of its energy to the erosion work Avhich it has done on the sea door.

* The loss is shown not so much by the decrease in the height of
the surge as in the shortening of its width and the slowing of its
motion. A good share of its height is preserved in a peculiar
manner: as the undulation comes over the shallowing floor of
the sea the hindrance to its ongoing is proportionate to the dimi-
nution of the depth. The result is that the front of the wave,
being in the least depth, is held back to a greater degree than
the rear which is in deeper water. The two sides of the wave
are thus crowded together, so that the crest of the arch is rela-
tively uplifted. For all this, however, the wave when it over-
turns— that is, when the top, or part least held back by the
friction on the bottom, shoots over the base and falls in the re-
current cataract of the surf — probably never exceeds twenty feet
in height and the energ}’^ left in the surging water may be reck-
oned at less than one-tenth of that which is held by the greater
waves of the o|)en sea.

When the wave delivers its finishing stroke in the surf line
and its splash front, the modes in which its energy is applied
suddenly become changed. The falling mass of water strikes a
powerful blow, which, coming upon firm-set rock or sand, has
but little effect; but Avhen, as is often the case, the beach is
covered Avith loose stones, these fragments are driven about in a
violent manner and strike heaA'y bloAvs. When the Avave over-
turns, the mass of Avater SAveeps u]) the slope of the strand, urging
before it all the rock fragments Avhich it can driA-^e onward. If
the upper edge of the beach is bordered by cliffs, as is generally
the case along rock-bound shores, the SAvash and secondary
Avaves Avhich gather inside the tumble of the surf send the
boulders Avith each stroke to batter the base of the bluff
Although the Avaves have in all cases lost a large ]>art of their
energy before they are able to do this Avork of battering the shore
cliffs they are still, Avhen armed Avith rock fragments, comj)ctcnt
to accomi»lish a great deal of erosion. Whenever the cliff is
cfmijiosed of ordinary hard rock, the battering at its base cuts a
recess, causing the cliff to overhang. In time the Aveight of the
mass Avhich is thus unsupported brings it in ruins to the beach,
Avhere the fragments are ground into santl or mud by the action
of the AvaAX'S and rcmoA'cd to the deep sea or the distant reaches
of the shore.

332

THE ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF SOIL EROSION

Whenever the level of sea and land remains for a considerable
time constant and the shore is not protected by sand beaches,
the sea cuts a distinct bench into the rocks. Even a few cen-
turies will suffice to make this bench a noticeable feature in the
sea front. A single geological period may serve to bring it to a
Avidth of one or many miles. In general, howcA^er, the frequent,
we may say the incessant, changes of level place the shoreline
noAV here and noAV there on the land surface and so distribute
the effect of the marine benching over an area the Avidth of
Avhich varies Avith the stee])iiess of the slope from the interior to
the ocean.

It is not as yet possible for us to estimate the A'alue of this
erosive Avork of the Avaves. Geologists and geographers have of
late been disposed to give it less importance than they did in
the earlier stages of the science. In my opinion they have seri-
ously underestimated its importance. That it is of much A^alue
is clearly shoAvn by the AVork that has been accomplished along
the shores in very recent times. To limit ourselves to coasts
that are at the moment steadfast and to areas within the limits of
the United States, Ave may instance the southern borders of the
islands of eastern Massachusetts, Avhich since the settlement of
the country have been encroached upon by the sea at a very
rapid rate. On the south side of Nantucket the Avaste in certain
years has amounted to five or six feet. On the corresponding
shore of Martha’s Vineyard the recession during the last forty
years (as has been shown b}^ the surveys of Assistant H. L.
Whiting, of the U. S. Coast Survey) has been at an average rate
of three feet per annum. It is probable that the gain of the sea
on this part of the coast during the three centuries since the
land Avas first seen by Europeans has amounted to nearly a mile.

On ordinary rock shores the rate of AA^earing is relatively slow
and exceedingly variable in amount, but Avhere the waves have
a fair chance to assault the land it is always considerable. Al-
lowing the minimum results obtained in numerous observations,
Ave must reckon the gain of the sea at a mean of tAvo feet per
century. Computing at ten thousand years, the time that has
elapsed since the ice-sheet of the last glacial period passed
from these shores, the total amount of this coast erosion should
average two hundred feet. During a period of one hundred
thousand years — a very brief age in the history of the Avorld —
the sea should have Avorked its Avay inunore than a third of a
mile. Since the beginning of Tertiary time, Avhich cannot Avell

THE ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF SOIL EROSION

333

be reckoned at less than two to three millions of years ago, the
recession of the shore, due to the action of the waves, may safely
be estimated at several miles. Taking all the coastline on the
eastern border of the United States into consideration, we see
that the sand beaches, owing to their singular endurance of wave-
action (a feature I have discussed elsewhere), have an important’
restraining efiect on the process of marine erosion. Making al-
lowance for this protective work, it remains clear that the effect
of ocean waves is to wear back the shorelines into the land, and
this at a rate which in a geological sense may be termed rapid.

As geologists find but few shores bordered b}" distinct benches
cut in the hard rocks, the.y have generally underestimated the
value of wave-work, but in forming their opinion they have
neglected the important fact that the continents are continually
changing their positions in relation to the sea level. Every step
in the advancement of our knowledge of the problem shows that
the shore lands are ceaselessly and at times suddenl}^ moving
upward or downward. Even those coasts which now appear to
be steadfast have in very recent times changed their positions by
sinking or rising. The result of these perpetual swayings of the
coastlines is to distribute the benching action of the waves over
a wide zone, extending along the most of the great lands from
a level much below that of the present shores to a position far
higher than that which they now occupy. In some instances,
where the sea has chanced to remain for a long time in contact
with the land on one horizontal plane, we note the existence of
broad shelves of rock extending outward from the sea-cliffs,
sometimes to the distance of a mile or more. Thus, on the coast
of Yorkshire, from Whitby southward, a sea-cut bench, with its
surface just above low tide, stretches seaward from the foot of
the towering cliffs for an average distance of more than a mile,
attesting in the j)lainest possilde manner the cutting power of
the sea. In general, we may say of the eastern coasts of North
America that indications of marine Avork are visible to a height
of several hundred feet above the i)lane of the ocean, and that
there is good reason to believe that such cutting Avork has been
done on much of the slope Avhich noAV lies beloAV the sea. \\’hen
by the uplifting of the land ancient sea bases are carried above
the limits of Avave-action they are quickly Avorn aAvay hy the
})roce.sses of erosion Avhich are proper to the land. When such
benches are loAvered beneath the ocean they are soon covered b}”
sediments, and thus brought into j)ositions Avhere even subse-

334

THE ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF SOIL EROSION

quent uprising of the continent would not cause them to be re-
vealed.

Along the eastern face of North America, from South Carolina
to Newfoundland, there exists a series of old mountain ranges,
to which we may give the name of the Lost Appalachians, that
have been worn down to their roots by some j^rocess of erosion.
West of these deeply wasted mountains in the section from Penn-
sylvania southward we have the yet older ranges of the Blue
Ridge or Central Appalachians, which on their eastern face have
been worn away, though their western parts retain a consider-
able relief. Still further to the west, behind the wall of the
Middle Appalachians, lie the West Appalachians or Cumberland
and Alleghany ranges. These last-named elevations retain their
original reliefs much more perfectly than the seaward moun-
tains ; they are relatively little degraded. They are recognized
as mountains in common speech, while those along the Atlantic
coast, though of younger age, have lost to the common eye their
mountainous character and are known to the geologist only by
the altitudes of their rocks.

Considering from the point of view of economic interests the
erosion or land destruction which is accomplished by the sea,
we note that even in historic times it has wrought changes of
considerable moment to mankind. Wherever the shores are
bordered by very hard rocks or walled-in by sand beaches, the
processes by which the land is stri}>ped away and its debris
carried into the sea are slow ; the destruction is distributed over
a long ])eriod, and there is no distinct effect in the interest of
men. Where, however, the coasts are of soft rocks, the waste is
often so rapid that it may dispossess communities of their in-
heritance. Thus, at the rate of marine invasion which is now
going on on the southern shores of Nantucket, that island is
likely to disappear in the course of two or three thousand years,
being in the end reduced to the condition of a shoal such as we
now find in the shallows which stretch far to the southeastward
of that island, shallows which seem to mark the position of
ancient lands that have been swept away by the waves. George’s
shoals and other shoals extending along the coast to the north-
ern end of the banks of Newfoundland can best be explained by
supposing that they mark the sites of islands that have been
planed down by the sea.

The recorded history of this country is too brief to afford any
very important instances of marine erosion. In the Old World,

THE ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF SOIL EROSION

335

however, these abound. Perhaps the most noteworthy is that
of the politically imjjortaiit island of Heligoland in the North
sea, which is wasting with such rapidity that it is not likely to
endure for more than two or three centuries to come. The east-
ern and southern coasts of England, bordered as the}'’ are by soft
stratified rocks, are also the seat of a rapid though locally varia-
ble marine erosion, which within the limits of recorded history
has sensibly diminished the areas of many parishes. Accurate
data for determining the number of square miles thus lost to the
service of man are lacking, but from a careful inspection of the
English coast I am of the opinion that during the Christian era
the total loss of area in that portion of the most important island
in the world has probably been not less than one hundred square
miles. As the land thus destroyed was of average fertility, the
loss of food-giving capacity has been sufficient to diminish in a
noteworthy w^ay the population-sustaining value of the country.

Against the invasions of the sea, whether they arise from the
direct assaults of the waves and the currents which the winds
produce or by a combination of subsidence and wave-action,
there seems to be no effective means of protection. The skill of
the engineer, applied at great cost, may arrest or dela}'- the loss
at points where the safety of harbors or towns is involved, but
tliere is no reason to suppose that it will ever be found economical
to protect the sea margin from wasting where the defenses are
merel}’’ to save agricultural land. Our own coasts, particularly
that of New Jersey, are strewn with wrecks which mark the
failure of ill-directed efforts to ward off the persistent assaults of
the waves. At certain points in eastern Massachusetts I have
found it wortli while to advise tlie owners of houses on the sea-
shore where their ground was endangered I)}’’ the inwashing of
the shoreline to heap the sea front with large boulders drawn
from the neiglil^oring fields. In somewhat protected positions
the waves l>reaking on this artificial beach are fended from the
cliffs. Thus by giving the sea-dogs a bone they could for a time
be kept from their ravages. Where the waves do not attain the
coastline witli a height of more than five feet, this ine.xpensive
barrier appears to l;e very serviccalde, l)ut on tlie more open
shores any boulder that could without great cost he placed on
the shore would be tossed about and rapidl}" worn to small bits.
For the maintenance of the precious land, that scat of all the
higlier life of the world, against the assaults of the waves or the
more rapid destruction which is hroiight about by the down-

336

THE ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF SOIL EROSION

sinking of the shore lands, we must look to those natural forces
which are ever, though not uniformly, at work uplifting the con-
tinental arches above the plane of the seas. At present we seem
to be in a period where the great lands recently in a state of ver^’’
general depression as regards the sea level have come to a pre-
vailingly steadfast state. The next step may be toward a general
gain of the continental areas on the fields of the oceans.

\\'e turn now from the work of erosion which goes on upon the
shores, and which, as we have seen, is due to the action of solar
heat working through the movements that it enforces on the
atmosphere, to another effect of the sun’s energ\% that due to the
evaporation and precipitation of water. We have noted the fact
that the radiation of heat is hindered by the atmosphere, one
consequence of which is the warming of the air next the earth’s
surface, an effect which is noticeable in a diminishing rate for a
great height above the surfiice. To this action is also attributable
the establishment of conditions which bring about the system of
the rains. It fortunately happens that the adjustment of tem-
peratures next the earth’s surface makes it possible for the process
of evaporation to lift a large amount of water into the air. The
quantity thus borne upward is not as yet definitely ascertained,
but it probably amounts to not far from an average of five feet
per annum over the surface of the seas. The greater part of this
water after ascending to a height of perha})S a mile or more, on
an average, is condensed and falls back to the ocean as rain or
snow. In making this circuit work is done, but it is of no geo-
logical value. Following the dynamic history of a pound of
water in its up and down journey, we see that it takes five
thousand foot-pounds of energy expressed in heat to lift it for
the mile or so of its ascent, and that this energ}’’ is reconverted
into heat b}' the friction which the water encounters in falling
or by the blow which it strikes when it attains the surface.
Owing to the conditions, the energy of position which the water
had when at its highest point (an amount sufficient to lift one
ton to the height of two and one-half feet) has, when it falls back
to the sea, done no work of lasting importance. It is, as we shall
see, quite otherwise when in the downward movement the water
falls upon a land surface.

The winds — those movements of the atmosphere which create
the waves and thus bring about marine erosion — transport the
watery vapor from its main source, the seas, so that a share of
it, perhaps near one-half of all that is formed, is brought over

THE ECOXOmC ASPECTS OF SOIC EROSION

337

the surface of the lands. There, owing to the fact that the air
is more or less uplifted, the precipitation of the water vapor is
more favored, and the proportion of rainfall is usually greater
than it is upon the surface of the ocean. Falling upon the land,
the condensed moisture comes down in one or another of three
forms — as dew, as rain, or as snow. The dew, though it has much
geological im])ortance because of its relation to plant life, has
only indirect value in the problem of land erosion. It serves to
diminish this wearing h\^ favoring in the diy seasons the de-
velopment of a mat of vegetation which in the period of rains
ju’otects the earth in a very effective way from the temporary
streams which gather during heavy showers. The importance
of this form of precipitation is great, but it is so limited that we
may, with this brief statement, dismiss it.

The normal form of falling water is rain. In this mode of
precipitation we usually find the fluid descending from a con-
sideral)le height in the form of drops of varied bulk, averaging
perha[)s rather more than one-twentieth of an inch in diameter.
They are generall}' large enough to acquire a considerable velocit}’’
on their wa}^ to the earth, though their momentum is much
diminished l)y the friction they encounter in passing through
the air. Striking the earth, they appl}' to it what energy they
have by virtue of their velocity. If we observe what takes place
on recently tilled earth, we readily note certain important conse-
quences arising from this immediate assault of the rain. As soon
as the soil is moistened, each stroke acts to break uj) the clods,
bringing the material into the condition of mud, in which it is
readily borne away by the rills which, if the shower be heavy,
quickly form in such numbers as to interlace the surface. In a
few moments these little streams, at first obscure, gather into
distinct rills, which, with quickly swinging curves, carve out a
model of a new drainage system. In the course of an hour of
very rapid downfall a hare, plowed field, on a declivity of not
more than five feet in the hundred, or less than the average slo])e
of land, may have an average of one-third of an inch of its sur-
face soil removed to the channels of the streams which drain it.
It may, after such a time of rain, he noted on a field which has
been plowed and rolled that here and there a small fiat stone or
a potsherd lies on top of a little earthen column. A\’e sec at
once that the natural roof has protected the earth beneath and
caused it to he left behind in the process of erosion which has
overtaken the soil of the neighlxjring surface.

338

THE ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF SOIL EROSION

A brief comparison of the effect of a heavy rainfall on a newly
tilled surface hare of vegetation and on a like area which is
protected hy the natural covering of living and dead plants
will show tlie peculiar influence of the vegetable shield on the
history of soils. On wood and grass lands the rainfall has prac-
tically no erosive action whatever. In the forests the mat of
decayed vegetation is in most cases able to take in three or four
inches of water, which it yields up so slowly as to distribute the
flow over weeks and in such a manner that it removes not a hit
of the soil. On the meadows the outgoing of the water is more
rapid ; it may, indeed, pass to the i)ermanent streams quite as
ra})idly as from the plowed ground, but it is kept from contact
with the soil hy tlie closely set and entangled stems through
which it cannot break, even when gathered into considerable
streams. Unless field mice or moles have made burrows leading
uj) and down the slopes and thereb}'’ providing a way in which
the water is able to work below the grass, a rainfall of two inches
an hour, a rate which may be called torrential, ma}" be carried
from a large field of well grassed land having a slope of twelve
feet in a hundred without notably eroding the soil.

If I were an extreme selectionist I should probably not hesi-
tate to attribute to their own agency, as developed by survival
of the fittest, the admirable system by which the plants pre-
serve the soil on wliich they depend from the rapid degradation
to which it would be subjected but for this defense. The pro-
tective w'ork which is here accomplished is indeed more perfect
than elsewhere. It may be conceived that the plants have pros-
pered in proportion to the efficiency of the shield which they
afford to the soil on which their life depends. Interesting as is
this question, it lies apart from our inquiry, and we must turn
our attention to the further histoiy of the rainwater.

{To be coniinued.)

THE NANSEN POLAR EXPEDITION*

Special Report of the Hon. Ernest A. Man,

United States Consul at Bergen

On the 17th clay of June, 1896, as some of the men of the
English Jackson and Harmsworth expedition, in Franz Josef
land, were looking out over the ice they discovered a weird figure
advancing towards them, with long straggling hair and beard and
garments covered with grease and blood stains, who proved to
be none other than Dr Fridhjof Nansen, who fifteen months
previous had left his ship, the Frani, at 83° 59' north latitude
and 102° 27' east longitude in order to push on with sleds, boats,
and dogs towards the Pole. In a shelter some distance off was
Dr Nansen’s companion. Lieutenant Johansen.

A few weeks later the Fram arrived safely at Skjervo, Norway,
some da}^s after Nansen’s return home. While Nansen did not
reach the hoped-for goal, the results of the expedition promise
to be of value to the scientific world and of inestimable assist-
ance to future efforts in the same direction.

The Fram, with a company of thirteen men, left Vardo, Nor-
way, the 21st of July, 1893, and proceeded eastward through the
Kara sea, rounded cape Chelyuskin, and on the 15th of September
was off the mouth of the Olenek river. There they expected to
go in to obtain additional dogs, but, finding that owing to the
shoals and rocks and lateness of the season they would probably
get locked in the ice and thus be delayed a year, they at once
took a northerly course into the open Arctic ocean until Sep-
tember 22, when at 78° 50' north latitude and 133° 37' east
longitude they made the vessel fast to an ice-field. From this
point they began drifting with the ice in a northerly and north-
westerly direction, according to the ])lan laid out by Nansen,
and by which he hoped to drift near or over the Pole, as was
supposed to have l)een the ))rocess by which the effects of the
Jeannette ex[)edition reached the eastern coast of (Treenland.

As had been anticipated, the drift was most rai)id in tlie winter
and s[>ring. During the summer months they were hindered

• This report, transmitteil from Bergen Soptemtier I, Ims Seen courteously placed at
the dispoxal of the National Geographic Society by the lion. W. W. Rockhill, Acting
Secretary of State.

3.19

140

THE XASSEX POLAR EXPEDITIOX

by the prevailing north winds. They continued drifting with
the ice in this manner for nearly eighteen months, when, having
reached on March 3, 1895, 84° 4' north latitude, and finding they
were drifting to the southward again, Xansen determined that
the time had come in which to leave the ship and make the
attempt to reach the highest possible north by other methods —
a decision in which he was perfectly justified, as the Fram was
even then at a more northerly point than had been attained by
any previous expedition.

Having given the command of the Fram over to Sverdrup,
who had been his companion on his Greenland expedition, and
accepted the offer of Lieutenant Johansen, who volunteered to
accompany him — though warned by Dr Xansen that it was at
the risk of his life to do so — the two men, on the 14th of March,
1895, at 83° 59' north latitude and 102° 27' east longitude, left
the ship. They took with them 28 dogs, 3 sleds, 2 kayaks or
canvas-covered canoes, food for the dogs for thirty da}"s, and
provisions for themselves for three months. From the 14th of
March until the 7th of Ajiril they struggled onward, making
their way on snowshoes or drifting on ice-ffoes, either northerly
or southerly, with loose ice driving up around them into formi-
dable heights over which it was wellnigh impossible to trans-
j)ort the boats and sleds, and with the thermometer almost
steadily at 40° below zero, Fahrenheit.

On April 7 the odds against which they were laboring became
decisive ; there was no prospect of scaling the ice-barriers around
them. They were then at 86° 14' north latitude. Dr Xansen
put on his snowshoes and took a last reconnoitering tour to the
northward. As far as the eye could reach lay great bodies of
ice driving before the wind, with no land or any indication of
the same perceptible. It was apjjarent to Xansen that under
these circumstances, and with the number of their dogs already
decreasing, the}’^ had jmoceeded as far as it was j)racticable, and
be therefore decided that they would start upon their return
journey, taking a southerly course toward Franz Josef land,
intending to proceed from there to Spitzbergen, where he knew
they would be sure to find a ship which would carry them home.

They set forth on the 8th day of April, 1895, and on the 12th
their watches stopped, which of course threw them out of their
longitudinal reckoning somewhat, but they bravely went on,
overcoming the most discouraging obstacles, sometimes gaining
long distances on their snowshoes, and again drifting with the

THE NANSEN POLAR EXPEDITION

341

ice several miles back to the northward. Toward the last of
June they concluded to make a sort of camp and wait for the
ice to break up somewhat. Their food was giving out and the}’’
had but two dogs left, so they began to depend on walrus and
hear meat for their sustenance. It was a month of hardships,
hut on the 23d of July they pushed on again, wdth health un-
broken, toward land, Avhich they sighted the next day, July 24,
at about 82° north latitude.

At that time of the year the ice was considerably broken up,
and, as it was unsafe in the boats, they were obliged to travel
over the floating ice, leaping from one ice-field to another, and in
this difficult and dangerous way proceeded towards the land they
had sighted, and which was reached the 6th day of August, at
81° 38' north latitude and about 63° east longitude, and ]>roved
to ])e three snow-covered islands, to the west of which they found
open water, and through this they made their way in a westerly
and southwesterly direction until August 26th, at 81° 12' north
latitude and about 56° east longitude, when they set foot upon
land — Franz Josef land — where Dr Nansen considered it advis-
able to prepare themselves for spending the dark winter months,
as it w’as too late to continue the journey to Spitzbergen. Thus
they had been more than five months wandering over the Arctic
ice-fields and in the Polar sea without a roof to cover them, even
without furs, which they had left in order to limit their impedi-
menta to the strictest necessities.

The hut they put up was constructed of stone and turf, cov-
ered with walrus skins, and was twelve feet long and six feet
wide, with a door made of hear skin. Here they spent nine
dreary months, depending upon their own efforts for food, as
their last dog had been killed Ijefore they reached land. They
had started with twenty-eight dogs, hut as soon as the ]:>rovisions
for them gave out they had to kill the weakest, one after an-
other, in order to feed the remaining j)ack.

During this terriljle winter hear meat was their main depend-
ence— in fact, these two men shot nineteen l)ears during their
adventurous fifteen months, 'i'he fat was used both as fuel and
liglit, a lam)) having l)een constructed out of the metal work of
the sleds. They were also obliged to make themselves sleej)ing
])ags and winter clothing of furs.

On the 19th of May, 189(), the days having become sulliciently
bright, and with a su)>|)ly of hear meat and the ho])e of finding
some game on the way and making a s))eedy journey homeward.

342

THE NANSEN POLAR EXPEDITION

they set out for Spitzbergen. On May 23d they came to open
water, at 81° 5' north latitude, but were delayed by a heavy gale
until the 3d of June. They saw a large body of land in the west,
with open water spreading out to the north and west of it, but
they concluded to go over the ice to the southward, into a broad
unknown strait. When they reached the southern end of this
strait they found the open sea to the westward. It was while
struggling over the ice off the coast of this laud that they came
upon the Jacksou-Harmsworth expedition, which happened on
the morning of the 17th of June, 1896. It was Nansen’s turn
to cook that day, and he had risen early to get breakfast, while
Johansen lay in under the shelter they had constructed of the
two kayaks and the sails of their sleds. Suddenly Nansen called
out, “ I hear the barking of dogs ; there must be people near.”
Johansen sprang up, but could hear nothing. In the meantime
they decided to finish their meal, and then Nansen Avent forth
to search for the source of the sounds he had heard. He had
not been gone long when Johansen distinctly heard the barking
of dogs himself, and not long thereafter a party of men from the
Jackson expedition made their appearance. The}'^ prepared at
once to take Johansen and the camping effects Avith them to
the Jackson headquarters, Avhere Nansen had iDreceded them.
Among the articles they took Avith them Avere the kayaks, or flat-
bottomed canvas boats, Avhich had carried the tAVO men for so
many days. The}^ Avere made of a frame of bamboo, covered
Avith sailcloth. One boat had been made by Nansen and the
otlier by Mogstad, the carpenter on the Fram. They Aveighed
some tAventy pounds each, and Avere about tAventy feet long, com-
pletely decked over, Avith a hole in the middle for the roAver, and
in each end a smaller opening through Avhich to get at the pro-
visions and anything else stoAved under the boAvs and stern.
These boats Avere noAV perfectly black Avith the grease and oil
which had been smeared over them continually to keep them
Avater-tight. Besides the boats, there Avere the sleeping-bags, old
and ragged, their snoAvshoes, paddles, guns, bear-skin traces for
dragging the sleds, etc. Their only cooking utensil Avas exceed-
ingly primitive, and in the bottom of it Avere left the remains of
the last meal cooked in it, a sort of soup, made of salt Avater, the
meat of a young Avalrus, and a little corn meal. It is said that
it Avould be impossible for the ciA'ilized Avorld to picture to itself
the appearance of Nansen and Johansen as they stood before
the English explorers, their beards long and unkem])!, their hair

THE NANSEN POLAR EXPEDITION

343

hanging in wild disorder upon their shoulders, and their cloth-
ing stiff and dark with the accumulated grease and blood of the
animals they had slaughtered and cooked during fifteen months
of unexampled existence.

On August 13, 1896, the Jackson expedition’s shi]3, the Wind-
loard, landed them at Vardo, Norway, and on the 20th of the
same month the Fram came steaming into Skjervo, near Ham-
merfest, and thus the whole expedition was once more on its
native shores, every man alive and hearty, and the Fram itself
without a timber injured.

After Nansen left the Fram in Captain Sverdrup’s charge it
continued its, on the whole, northwesterly drift, sometimes veer-
ing a little to the southward, and then gaining something in the
wished-for direction northward, and again lying cradled in ice,
from which it was several times freed by charges of powder, some-
times as large a charge as 110 pounds being exploded in the ice.

On the 16th of October, 1895, seven months after Nansen left
them, the Fravi reached her highest latitude, viz., 85° 57' north
latitude, in longitude 66° east. After this the drift was to the
southward again, and when the ice broke up this summer of
1896 the most energetic efforts were made to free the Fram and
get her through the vast fields of ice out to ojDen water. This
was finally successful, and on the 13th of August, the very day
of Nansen’s arrival at Vard5, the Fram reached the open sea, with
no more ob-stacles between her and a home port. No one had
been ill or injured during the voyage and not a case of scurvy
had occurred. Cheerfulness reigned, and the amusements with
which the long, dark winters were beguiled were only disturbed
now and then by a feeling of anxiety caused by the crunching
and grinding of the masses of ice crowding against the ship’s
sides. The electric light, Avith its Avindmill and accumulators^
Avas a great success. When the Avind failed, the men Avere ready
and Avilling to take needed exercise by turning the ca[)stan, and
thus supplying the deficiency. No land Avas seen above the 82°
of latitude. During the Frauds voyage soundings from the north
of the Ncav Siberian islands to north of Spitzbergcn slnnvcd the
minimum dei)th to be 1,600 fathoms and maximum 2,000 fath-
oms, Avhich upsets all theories as to a shalloAV Polar basin in the
European Arctic ocean. One peculiar feature of this Polar sea
is that the upper space of Avater to a dc|)th of about 100 fathoms
is icc cold, Avhilo below it there is a stratum of Avater shoAviiig a
half degree of Avamith (Celsius) aud reaehing to a depth of about

344

THE NANSEN POLAR PJXPEDnTON

380 fathoms, below which it is again cold. This ma_y,' possibly,
be owing to the Gulf stream. There was a great dearth of organic
life, none whatever being found in the greater ocean depths, and
no signs of animal life in the higher latitudes, excepting an occa-
sional migratory bird, so that the idea of organic life prevailing
in the upper regions about the Pole is erroneous.

While many contend that Nansen’s theory of a Polar current
flowing across the Pole on to the east coast of Greenland seems
to have been correct, there are strong arguments against it, and
Sverdrup, who was in command of the Fram when she made
her most northerly record, seems to tliink that there is no regular
current, hut that the movements of the ice masses are mainly
governed by the winds. On the other hand, from a look at the
chart showing the entire drift of the Fram, there would seem to
be a reasonable probability that if the Fram had taken the course
originally intended h}'' Nansen, viz., had gone farther to the east-
ward and entered the ice-fields to the northeast of the New Sibe-
rian islands instead of the nortliwest, she might have drifted
farther north, if not over the Pole itself. However that may be,
it is said that Dr Nansen himself has stated that should he
undertake another expedition in that direction it would not be
by means of a ship, but with sleds, kayaks, and dogs, with Franz
Josef land as a starting-point, and depending mainl}^ on the re-
sources of the regions about him for subsistence.

"Wdiatever may be thought of the wisdom and usefulness of
such exi)editions, all must admire the superior courage of these
two Norwegians, and especially Dr Nansen, who, fully appreci-
ating the full extent of the deadly perils they were to encounter,
had also the sagacity and ability to foresee and prepare for almost
the minutest details of their undertaking. The fact of these
men, after having passed tlirough the terrible rigors of two Arctic
winters, stejiping over the side of their sheltering ship into the
unknown wastes of this high latitude, with no exj)ectation of
rejoining her there, and marching Avith their dogs straight into
the terrible north, required an amount of splendid courage im-
possible to exc'el ; and that they were able to live through fifteen
months of these conditions shows a physical superiority as great
as their daring, in Avhich, no doubt, their Avell-knoAvn abilities as
sportsmen and athletes Avas a very important factor.

ICE-CLIFFS ON THE KOWAK RIVER

By Lieut. J. C. Cantwell,

United States lievenue- Cutter Service

The Kowak river rises in the northwestern pjlrt of Alaska, and
after a tortuous easterly course of about 550 miles, the greater
portion of which is within the Arctic circle, it flows into Hotham
inlet, a large body of fresh water opening into Kotzebue sound.
During the summers of lS84-’85 it was my good fortune to visit
this region and to make a reconnaissance of the stream from its
mouth to its headwaters. Among the many novel and interest-
ing features of the region, which had never previously been visited
by white men, none Avere more striking than a remarkable series
of ice-clifts obseiwed along the banks of the river about 80 miles
from its mouth. These deposits of ice Avere first seen in some of
the loAv silt banks of the delta, and it Avas supposed that they
Avere the result of the spring freshets in the river forcing large
masses of ice into the soft, yielding soil of the banks. But Avhen
on our emerging from the delta and reaching the higher land of
the interior Ave still found these ice deposits in the form of cliffs,
from 80 to 150 feet high, the theory of current formation had to
be abandoned. Tlie banks of the stream in the region Avhere the
ice-cliffs are found are not all filled Avith ice, and the Avater-
inarks on those AAdiich are composed only of soil and rock shoAV
be.yond question that the Avater has never reached a sufficiently
high stage to have transi>orted the ice to its present position.

At tAvo points the cliffs attain an altitude of OA'er 150 feet, and
one cliff measured b}'' sextant angles showed 185 feet. The tops
of all the cliffs Avere superposed by a layer of black, silt-like soil
from G to 8 feet thick, and from this springs a luxuriant groAvth
of mosses, grass, and the characteristic Arctic shrubbery, con-
sisting for the most j>art of aauIIoav, alder, and berry bushes, and
a dense forest of spruce trees from 50 to 80 feet high and from
4 to 8 inches in diameter.

W’here the face of the cliffs Avas toAvards the south the upper
j)ortion of the formation Avould be found undergoing the process
of destruction under the melting action ol' the sun’s rays, Avhile
in other situations the erosion of the river current Avas constantly

346

ICE- CLIFFS ON THE KOWAK RIVER

undermining the cliffs. Both of these destructive agents caused
great masses of soil and tree-laden ice to become detached and
fall into the stream. Where the retreating waters of spring had
left these masses of detached ice stranded on the adjacent beaches
or bars, piles of soft dust almost entirely free from any gritty
substance would be left as a monument to mark the spot where
the ice had been melted by the summer sun. These small dust
heaps are a characteristic feature' of the region where the ice-
cliffs are found and are entirely different in appearance from the
gravel and sand heaps deposited in the same wa}'^ by ice floated
down from the upper river.

An examination of the to])s of the ice-cliffs was very difficult
on account of the dense undergrowth and the thick carpet of
mo.ss, but on one we discovered a lake about a mile in diameter
and situated some 500 yards from the face of the cliff. The water
in this lake was fresh and clear, but upon being disturbed became
exceedingly turbid, owing to the presence of a large quantity of
fine, decayed vegetable matter on the bottom. A 2)iece of the
ice melted showed a residuum of fine, im{)alpable dust, which
under a lens ]'>roved to be composed mainly of vegetable matter
and, while fresh, emitted a very pungent, disagreeable odor.

The countiy in this region is mostly rolling tundra plains,
with innumerable small lakes and streams, all of which are tribu-
tary to the larger river. There is no evidence of glacial action
whatever, and it is not until the first mountain range is reached,
a hundred miles further upstream, that any rocks in situ are seen.
Here and further inland more plainly are to be found beds of
trai>, which an examination shows to be a pronounced olivine
diabase, with such minerals as hornblende, mica, feldspar, augite,
etc, present. Other rock forms show unmistakable evidence of
the eruptive agencies that have been at work in the formation of
the upper river region. The formation of the remarkable ice-
cliffs in the lower country is, however, a geological nut which
the writer admits his inability to crack.

General A. W. Greely discusses the Nansen Polar Expedi-
tion at considerable length in Harper’s Weekly of September 19,
eulogizing Dr Nansen’s courage and self-reliance, but taking
strong exception to his leaving the Fram.

RECENT HYDROGRAPHIC WORK

The work of the Division of Hydrography in the United States
Geological Survey has been greatly extended, owing to the in-
creased appropriation made by Congress last spring. The re])orts
covering the first quarter of the present fiscal year — July to Sep-
tember, 1896, inclusive — show that a large amount of data of
more or less value to geographers is being accumulated. This
relates principally to the rivers of the Rocky Mountain region,
of the Pacific coast, and of the Atlantic slope. The underground
waters also are being systematically studied, the problems being
largely geologic in character. In particular, the work of Mr
Willard D. Johnson upon the underground waters of western
Kansas should be noted. Mr Johnson has been carrying on his
examination mainly in the vicinity of Garden City, Kansas,
where he has put down a number of test-wells for observing the
fluctuations of the ground waters. By causing the large steam-
pumps of the city water works to be operated at various rates of
«]>eed the ground water has been drawn upon, and he has been
able to make valuable observations upon the rate of flow and
general behavior of these percolating waters. The lack of uni-
formit}'^ in the data shows clearly that the problem of the move-
ment of ground water is by no means so simple as it apj^eared,
and that a large amount of detailed work is necessary. J'he
importance of a correct knowledge of this subject can best be
appreciated when it is considered that the utilization of a large
j)art of the most fertile lands of the west is dependent upon the
l)racticability of })umping water from under ground for irrigation.

The investigations above mentioned are, however, but a part
of those of the Division of H}^drography. In eastern Washington
and adjacent portions of Idaho and Oregon Professor Israel C.
Russell has carried on a reconnaissance of the artesian condi-
tions; in North Dakota Professor Earle J. Babcock has been
making examination of tlie water supply derived from wells and
springs; in Nebraska Mr N. II. Darton has been making a sys-
tematic study of the areal geology of the vicinities of Lincoln
and Grand Island for the ))urposeof obtaining detailed informa-
tion regarding the underground waters, and Professor Erwin II.
Barbour has been carrying on a broad study of the wells of the

348

MISCELLANEA

state ; in Kansas Professor Erasmus Haworth has been giving
particular attention to the artesian conditions in the vicinity of
the Meade Count}’- flowing wells, and in the Ohio valley Mr
Frank Leverett has been continuing his study of water supply
in connection with the examination of the glaciated area. About
twenty-five short papers are now in preparation relating to the
w'ater suj)ply in various parts of the United States or to the util-
ization of this in irrigation or for power or domestic purposes.

F. H. N.

MISCELLANEA

The September number of the United States Consular Reports, to which
admirable publication of the Department of State The National Geo-
GKAPHic Magazine is frequently indebted, contains valuable geographic
articles on the Kongo Free State, Hangchow, and the Production of
Coffee in Mexico.

The library of the National Geographic Society has again been enriched
through the munificence of the Hon. Gardiner G. Hubbard, president of
the Society, who has presented to it an unbroken set of Nouvelles Annales
des Voyages from its commencement in 1819 to 1865, inclusive. These
184 volumes cover the world’s explorations for nearly half a century and
constitute the most valuable geographic serial extant.

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Present and Extinct I^akes of Nevad.a. . . . . Prof I. C. Russell

Appalachian Mountains— Northern Section ... Bailey Willis
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Dr. Francis Brown, Union Theol. Seminary.

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Mr. Frederick II. Newell, Chief Hydrographer
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Mr. Herbert (i. Ogden, U. S. Coast Surv^ey.

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Mr. William H. Pickering, Profe.ssorof Astron-
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Major John W. Powell, Director of the Bureau
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Hon. John R. Procter, President of the U. S.
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Mr. Israel C. Russell, Professor of Geology in
the University of Michigan.

Dr. N. S. Shaler, Profes.sor of Geology in Har-
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Commander Charles I). Sigsbee, Hydrogra]dier
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Miss Eliza Ruhamali Sculmore.

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Hon. Charles I). Walcott, Director of the U. S.
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Mrs. Fannie B. Ward.

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25 Cents per Number or $2.50 per Year.

Among the Contents of Forthcoming
Numbers of

WILL BE THE FOLLOWING :

A Winter Voyage through the Straits of Magellan,

By admiral R. W. MEADE, U. S. N ;

Egypt and the Recent Expedition to Dongola,

By colonel CHARLES CHAILLE-LONG,

Late of the General Staff of the Egyptian Army ;

The Negro Republic of Africa and its Homes,

FROM PERSONAL OBSERVATION,

By MR GEORGE C. FRENCH ;

The Physical Features of Lake Superior,

By dr mark W. HARRINGTON,

President of the University of the State of Washington;

AND

The Utilization of the Vacant Public Lands,

By judge EMORY F. BEST,

Assistant Commissioner of the General Land Office.

JUDD & DHTVVEILER, PRINTERS, WASHINGTON, D. C.

NOVEMBER, 1896

No. 11

I Jo ■

Honorary Editor: JOHN HYDE
Honorary Associate Editors

A. Wr GREELY W J McGEE ELIZA RUHAMAH SCIDMORE

CONTENTS

PAGE

THE WITWATERSRAND AND THE REVOLT OF THE UITLANDERS.

With illustrations. GEORGE F. BECKER 349

THEECONOMICASPECTSOFSOILEROSION.il. DR N. S SHALER 368

A CRITICAL PERIOD IN SOUTH AFRICAN HISTORY. 378

PROCEEDINGS OP THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY. 379

MISCELLANEA. 380

WASHINGTON

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iW,

^ VII

The

AN ILLUSTRATED MONTHLY

THE

National Geographic Societ3^

ORGANIZED, JANUARY, 1888

President

GARDINER G. HUBBARD

MARCUS BAKER
WILLIAM H. DALL
G. K. GILBERT

Vice-Presidents

A. W. GRllELY
C. HART MERRIAM
HERBERT G. OGDEN

Treasurer
CHARLES J. BELL

Recording Secrctary

Corresponding Secretary

EVERETT HAYDEN

HENRY GANNETT

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NAT. GEOG. MAG. VOL. VII, 1896, PL. XXXV

MARKET SQUARE, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

THE

VoL. VII NOVEMBER, 1896 No. 11

THE WITWATERSRAND AND THE REVOLT OF THE
UITLANDERS*

By George F. Becker,

United States Geological Survey

The South African Republic, or, as it is more often called, The
Transvaal, lies in southeastern Africa, between the Limpopo or
Crocodile river on the north and the Vaal river on the south.
Portuguese and British possessions shut it off from the Indian
ocean on the east, and the country to the north and west of the
republic is also British. The Vaal river is tributary to the
Orange, which flows into the Atlantic, Avhile the Limpopo emp-
ties into the Indian ocean. The watershed between these rivers
is the Witwatersrand, or white-water-range, which trends nearl}^
east and west about south latitude 26°, and is therefore onl}'- 150
geographical miles from the tropic of Capricorn.

The Transvaal may be roughly described as an elevated
plateau, most of which lies between 4,000 and 6,000 feet al)ove
sea level. To the north of the Witwatemrand the general level
is not much over 4,000 feet. Immediately to the south of this
watershed, near Johannesburg, the elevation is about 6,000 feet,
gradually diminishing toward the Vaal, The general aspect of
the country reminds one of the Laramie plains, but the rainfall
averages about 80 inches, and the climate is mild and equable.
The soil is only moderately fertile, and 15 years ago the country
was considered fit for nothing but pastoral occujiation.

The Witwatersraud, in the neighborhood of Johannesburg,
consists of ui)turned edges of a thick mass of (piartzites, shales,
and conglomerates, known as the Lower Cape formation. These

* Paper read before the National Geographic .Society, October 10, 1890.

THE WITWATERSRAND AXD

350

rocks are of Paleozoic age, but carry no fossils. The conglom-
erates of this group almost all contain more or less gold. The
most famous mines of the Transvaal are o})ened ui>on a certain
set of these conglomerate beds known as the Main Reef series.
Resting unconformably on the Lower Cape is another grou])
known as the Upper Cai)e and containing one bed of conglom-
erate, the Black Reef, which has been profitabl}’’ worked for gold
at .some points. An extensive sheet of dolomite forms one mem-
ber of the Up))er Cape. Unconformably on the Upper Cape lies
the Triassic, carrying very extensive beds of coal, one of the
treasures of the Transvaal of which little is heard outside of South
Africa. As the country is also rich in iron ores, one ma}’’ expect
to hear more in the future than in the ])ast of these coal fields.
Meantime thei’ supply the gold-mining industiy with good and
cheap fuel. The Lower Cape formation, with the Main Reef
.series, is exposed onh' to a limited extent. M'ithin less than 20
miles of Johannesburg, both to the east and west, the Upper
Cape and the 'ITiassic beds Hood the country, and for a long dis-
tance only an occasional glimpse is to be had of the Lower Cape
with its auriferous conglomerate. It is said by various engineers
to reai)pcar occasional!}’ for hundreds of miles from Johannes-
burg— as, for instance, in Zululand — and to be more or le.ss aurif-
erous wherever found. It need hardly be remarked that the
search for the Main Reef lieneath the Trias is most arduous. That
it will eventually be traced far beyond the surface exposures of
the district is quite certain.

In this paper the Witwatersrand district alone is of especial
interest, but in conveying a general notion of the Transvaal it
must be remarked that this is by no means the only auriferous
district in the reiiublic. There are four other districts, contain-
ing in all ten mines, which yield at the rate of over 8100,000
each annually. Of these the Klerksdorp district carries gold in
conglomerates. In the three other districts the gold is found in
ordinary veins. The Sheba mine, in the De Kaap district, has
yielded over 85,000,000. Four of the important mines lie in the
Lydenburg district, and one, the Sutherland, in the Zoutpans-
burg district. The total gold product of the Transvaal for 1895,
outside of the Witwatersrand, was 83,581,000, while the Rand
alone yielded 838,110,000.* Statistics show that the yield of the
outside mines is increasing about as rapidly as that of the Rand.

* For comparison it may be noted that the United States produced in 1895 $16,610,000
worth of gold, or about $4,900,(XJO more than the Transvaal.

THE REVOLT OF THE UlTL ANDERS

351

The great gold deposits of the Rand are beds of conglomerate,
known in South, Africa as “ banket ” or “ reef.” They crop out
for some 27 miles at a distance of from one to two miles from
the crest of the Witwatersrand, and usually dip near the surface
at an angle of 45° or more. When followed downward the dip
diminishes somewhat rapidly to 25° or less. None of the mines
are }mt very deep ; none in fact reach 2,000 feet, but the reefs
have been found by the diamond drill to a depth of 2,500 feet.
The structure of the country seems to show that below the 2,000-
foot level the reefs will continue for a long distance at a moderate
angle. How deep mining can be carried on may be more or less
questionable, but the mining engineers on the Rand confidently
believe that they can get down 5,000 feet, and I agree with them.
The ore of the Rand is phenomenally uniform for an auriferous
deposit. Wdiile it is locally patchy, considerable areas show
only moderate fluctuations from a general average. The quan-
tity of gold can be computed with something like the same con-
fidence that the amount of coal in a coal seam can be calculated.
Such a computation is in the nature of things only a first ap-
proximation. but within certain limits it has a value. Estimates
of this kind for the whole area or portions of it have been made
by various experts, among whom may be mentioned Mr Hamil-
ton Smith, Bergrath Schmeisser, of the Prussian raining service,
Mr John Hays Hammond, Messrs Hatch and Chalmers, and
Professor De Launay, of the Paris School of Mines. These esti-
mates accord fiiirly well. The latest is Professor De Launay’s,
who, after a review of the other estimates, calculates by a method
of his own that to a depth of 1,000 meters (2,381 feet) and for a
length of outcrop of 25 miles the amount of gold accessible is
13 or 14 milliards of francs, or from 2,600 to 2,800 million dollars.
This would give down to the 5,000-foot level from 3,962 to 4,267
million dollars. Other of the estimates, similarly treated, Avould
give still larger values. Hatch and Chalmers, on the other hand,
estimate that the Rand proper, together Avith outlying ])ortions
of the district (all Avithin about 20 miles of Johannesburg), Avill
yield doAvn to the 5,000-foot level about 3,500 million dollars.
I have not been able to find any grounds for regarding this as
an overestimate, and I know of no one familiar Avith the de])Osits
Avho thinks it exaggerated.

The sketch of the character and resources of the Transvaal just
given contains nothing new. It has been outlined in order to
indicate hoAV ithai>[)ens that a community has suddenly si)rung

352

THE WITWATERSRAXD AND

up at Johannesburg, composed of enterprising, highl}" intelli-
gent, and perhaps somewhat impatient men, hailing from many
different lands — men as different as possible from the pastoral
pioneers who com})Ose the South African Republic. The Boers
and the foreigners, or “ Uitlanders,” as they are called in Dutch,
Avere not congenial and the great mining camp has all along con-
stituted a menace to the peace of the Republic. As every one
now knows, the threatened danger was not averted.

The dramatic incidents which have taken place in the Trans-
vaal during the past ten months have drawn the attention of the
Avhole world to that country. The interest in these events felt
in the United States has been little less intense than that in Great
Britain. This is entirely natural, for many of the leading men
in Johannesburg are Americans ; indeed, the mining industry is
chieily under the guidance of American engineers, and the United
States was represented on the reform committee by seven mem-
bers. It really behooves the American public therefore to know
how prominent American representatives of an important pro-
fession have behaved themselves under trying circumstances.
While there is a natural sympathy in the United States for Anglo-
Saxons taking up arms for their rights, Ave, as Republicans, also
sympathize with the South African Republic in the endeavor to
maintain its independence. This fellow-feeling makes it all the
more interesting and important to examine carefull}’^ and, if
haph’ such a thing is possible, imjjartially as Avell as carefully,
into the causes and conduct of the revolt.

I wish this inquiry had fallen into other hands than mine,
l)ut 1 hapi)ened to visit the country in April for a stay of some
months; several of the condemned men are old friends of mine
as well as colleagues, it naturall}' fell to my part to make such
efforts in their behalf as 1 could, and still in spite of these per-
sonal relations it is clear to me that there is much to be said on
the Boer side of the questions at issue. So far as opportunities
go, therefore, I am perhaps in as good a position as any one can
be to review the circumstances without prejudice. The great
difficulty in this, as in a,ny inquiry of an historical nature, is to
ascertain the facts, for these are differently represented by differ-
ent though seemingly Avell-in formed persons. I trust it will be
found that I have measurably succeeded.

It Avould be impossible to understand the conditions Avhich
led to the grievances of the Uitlanders without considering some

THE REVOLT OF THE UlTL ANDERS

353

of the influences which have made the Dutch colonists or Boers
what they are. The Boers are most closely related to us ethno-
logically, but their political and industrial history has been so
different that jealousies and antagonisms have arisen which,
though highly regrettable, are by no means without excuse.

The Boers, like the English, are in the main of Teutonic
blood, with a relatively small infusion of French stock. Like
the English, they are stubborn, self-reliant, fond of the chase,
and admirably adapted to cope with the difficulties incident to
colonization in a country occupied by savage beasts and still
more savage men. The Boer ideal seems to be life on a large
estate, with plenty of sport and the occu})ation of not too exigent
stockbreeding and farming. So far their tastes do not differ
greatly from those of many Englishmen, but they are for the
most part ignorant of the refinements of life so dear to advanced
Anglo-Saxons, and perhaps on this account they are almost de-
void of the commercial instincts through which such tastes
might be gratified. They are, it is said, usually able to read
print, but for the most part their reading is confined to the Bible.
They are highh' religious, and the Bible appeals to them as to
few other peoples, because the scenery and material conditions of
the Book are so similar to those by which they are surrounded.
The veiy animals are the same. Their religion is somber and
puritanical ; it is that of the Old Testament, with little sweetness
or mercy in it. Under normal conditions the Boers are gener-
ousl}" hospitable and they are brave. It is true that Englishmen
have sometimes reviled them as cowardl}\ but their whole his-
torv, and particularly the battles of Boomi>laats and Majuba Hill,
shows the contrary. The accusation seems to be due in 2)art to
the fact that like all continental Europeans the}" are greatly
averse to fisticuffs, and j>artly to the fact that in fighting with
rifles they avail themselves of cover whenever they can. Taking
advantage of cover I understand to be a well-established j>rin-
ciple of all modern tactics.

Many of them are said to be untruthful, at least in matters of
business. 'I’liis is not strange, for it was long ago observed that
financial responsibilities do more than the most stringent re-
ligion or than amiability and bravery to foster a high standard
()f truth fulnc.ss. 'I'he Boers are sometimes spoken of as a de-
generate race, but this is certainly a slander, 'fhey usually
jtossess an e.xcelhmt physi«iue, and it is jtcrfecfly well known
that one or two generations of education put the Dutch colonist

354

THE WITWATERSRAND AND

on a par with men of any nationality. The struggle for exist-
ence and for freedom has saved them from mental stagnation.
That the}" are l)ackward as a race, according to our standards,
is true. Much of the seventeenth century still clings to them,
Imt they have lost none of the ca])acity for advance.* The
most imi)ortant of all the characteristics of the Transvaal Boer
is his passion for freedom or, what in his case is tantamount to
the same tiling, his horror of British domination. In 1880 the
women of tlie Transvaal urged their sons and husbands to arms,
bidding tliem die like patriots, if need were. This passionate
horror of English rule is an historical development. The Boers
have had little opjiortunity to observe how mild and beneficent
English rule can lie under certain circumstances.

Cajie Colony passed into the possession of the British Crown
by force of arms in 180(5, and was formally ceded by the Prince
of Orange in 1814. The white population of the Cape at that
time consisted of the descendants of Dutch colonists and French
Huguenots. The latter had found their way to Africa through
Holland after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in l(58o. At
no time did the Huguenots exceed one-sixth of the colonists, or,
if the Dutch East India Company’s servants are counted, one-
eighth of the total European populalion. The colonists had
little intercourse with Euro])e during the 18th century. Like
other colonists of the time, they owned slaves, their lives were
pastoral and agricultural, and, excej)t for the Biljle, their studies
were confined to woodcraft. The petty imi>ositions of the Dutch
East India Company had made them unscrupulous so far as
transactions with the government Avere concerned ; the incorrigi-
ble carelessness of Hottentot servants had weakened the habits
of cleanliness Avbich they had brought from Holland, and the
possession of slaves had produced its usual deleterious effects.

♦ Mr John Nixon, in his Story of the Transvaal, 1885, which certainly cannot be ac-
cused of partiality to tlie Dutch colonists, says : “I have the pleasure of numbering
many intelligent and educated Boers among my acquaintance, and I desire to put on
record my opinion that a ‘good’ Boer is quite equal to a good Englishman. Nay, in
one respect he is better, for lie adds to the virtues of an Englishman an unbounded

and generous hospitality. . . . The educated Boer is a splendid stock No

one can deny that on that day [.Majuba] the Boers fought bravely and well.”

Tlie Uitlanders commonly form an extremely unfavorable opinion of the Boer.
They do not desire Hoer hospitality and they see nothing of his qualities as a pioneer,
while in business they fin<l him suspicious, untrustworthy, and behind the age; but it
would not be fair to judge of a people like the Boers entirely from a commercial
standpoint. The Boer, on the other hand, is not without justification for suspecting
English designs on his independence, and he can point to many promises of the
British government which have not been fulfilled ; but it is not fair to judge a people
like the English entirely from a political standpoint.

THE REVOLT OF THE UlTLANDERS

355

Thus, exce^Dt in the resources appropriate to pioneers, they had
been left behind in the march of civilization.

The British colonial policy in the early decades of this century
had not yet developed into its modern phase of mildness in any
part of the world. In 1815 took place a little disturbance which
has been designated by the exaggerated name of the ‘‘ rebellion ”
of Slachter’s Nek.* Two of the insurgent Boers and one Hot-
tentot British soldier only were killed, yet the British punished
the revolt by hanging five men, none of whom had shed a drop
of blood, while thirty-two others were condemned to banishment,
imprisonment, or fines. This cruel sentence, followed by no com-
mutation, has never been forgotten by the Boers, and small is
the wonder. The use of the Dutch language was forbidden in
the courts of Cape Colony in 1827, and for a short time those
who did not understand English were even disqualified from
jury duty. In 1834 the slaves were emancipated suddenly by
act of Parliament. The compensation proposed was only one-
third of the appraised value, and the conditions of obtaining this
fraction were so onerous that the colonists in many cases realized
only a fifth or a sixth of the actual value, and sometimes nothins:
at all. Many families were reduced to want, and great misery
was caused by the injudicious execution of a measure the prin-
ciple of which was laudable. The emaiicipated negroes were
placed on a political equality with their recent masters, and the
goyernment refused to pass yagrant laws to control the blacks.
This was a period when philanthropists were yery entlmsiastie
on the subject of the universal brotherhood of man, and it was
supposed by many well-meaning people that Kaffir tril)es were
intrinsically on a par with white communities. The Boers knew
better. Their refusal to acknowledge the equality of wliite and
black drew down on them the wrath of the missionaries, wlio
were extremely influential both in London and Cape Town.
There seems to be no doubt that tlie Dutch were rci>resented as
far more cruel to the natives than they really were, while the
blacks were painted as far less barl)arous than they are known
to have been.t Tims the mutual antagonism of the Boers and
the English was fomented by the apostles of j)oace.

♦ Tlio origin of tliis tiffHir was tlio refusal of a Hoer nameil Ber.iiiilenlioiit to comply
with a summons to answer a <^liargo of having ill-trealed a colored servant. Thero
seems to have been no politics in it.

t'l'tiat some terrih'e cruelties have lieen porpetrateil hy the Boers on tho hlaehs
during perioils of hostility is tiot to ho doui>ted. It must ho retnomhered that white
prisoners taken by the blacks were and aro tortured with indignities sickening to hear
of and quite indescribable in prittt.

35G

THE WITWATERSRAXD AND

The various grievances briefly indicated above led to the first
great “Trek,” or emigration of the Boers, from Ca})e Colony in
183(5-’37. Taking only their herds and such movables as they
could load on their wagons, thousands left the country. The
emigrants themselves maintained that the}' left the colony not
to avoid law, but lawlessness, and they made it evident that their
chief motive was to escai)e the .severe yet ineflicient English dom-
ination. In a manifesto by one of their })rincipal men, Peter
Ketief, written in 1837 it is a.sserted, “ We quit this colony under
the full assurance that tlie English government has nothing more
to require of us and will allow us to govern ourselves without its
interference in the future.” Vain hope!

In migrating into tlie wilderness, the Boers natuially came
into contact with the natives, not the negroes of the United
States, who came from the West Coast of Africa, nor the Hotten-
tots of the Cape, hut the great Bantu or Kaffir race, which includes
the Zulus, Matal)ili, Basutos, etc. These people are of a dark
bronze hue, and have good athletic figures. They possess some
excellent traits, but are horribly cruel when once they have
smelled blood. The Bantus ai)pear to have reached the cape
about the same time as the Euro])eans, killing out Hottentots
and Bushmen as they advanced, and waging furious inter-tribal
wars. Again and again a Bantu tribe, eftectively organized under
some able chief, has swept a great region clear of human beings.
When their witch-finding ceremonies are considered as supple-
menting the unsiiaring slaughter of war, it is remarkable that
any considerable number of Bantu remained. Nothing but the
phenomenal fecundity of the race has kept up its numbers.

The trekking Boers thus met tribes who held their territories
only by the right of recent and bloody coii(|uest and to whom
battle was the olqect of life. If the Boers had small compunc-
tion in taking land from them, it is perhaps not to be wondered
at. The Boers })aid for it, like the Bantus, with blood. The
history of the conflicts between the Boers and Zulus is wildly
romantic. It has been written and cannot be repeated here.

The greater ]>art of the territory occupied by the South African
Republic and by the Orange Eree State was absolutely depoi:>u-
lated by the Matabili (or rebel Zulus) under Moselekatse in 1817.
Twenty years later this chief and his followers fled to the north
of the Limpopo river, as the result of independent defeats by the
Zulu subjects of Dingaan and l)y the Boers.

When they left Cape Colony a portion of the Boers settled in

NAT. GEOG. MAG.

VOL. VII. 1896. PL. XXXVI

ZULU BRIDE AND BRIDEGROOM

THE REVOLT OF THE t72X.liVZ)^;it‘,S'

357

Natal, after the loss of a great part of their number, treacherousl.y
slaughtered by the Zulu chief, Dingaan. The Nngiish had re-
peatedly refused to annex Natal, but after the Boers had l)een
settled there for five }'ears and had set up a republic, the British
took possession, and to escape them most of the Boers trekked
again to the north of the Orange river, where man}" of their kins-
folk had preceded them in 1836-’37. Repeated official declara-
tions had been made that the Britisii dominion would not l»e
extended to the northward of this river. Nevertheless, in 1848;
British sovereignty was proclaimed over the region between the
Orange river on the south and the Vaal on the north, practically
the area now occupied by the Orange Free State. The Boers
resisted the annexation; two of their number were hanged and
the ])i’operty of other recalcitrants was confiscated. As early as
1842 many Boers had entered the Transvaal. After the annex-
ation of the country to the soutli, many more crossed the Vaal.
In 1852 the population amounted to about 5,000 white families,
and the independence of the Transvaal was acknowledged by
England in the Sand River Convention.

In 1877 the Transvaal was annexed by England on the ])lea
that the weakness of the state was a menace to English in-
terests.* But the unwillingness of the Boers to be Britisii sub-
jects had not diminished, nor were they without grave reasons
for dissatisfaction. It is acknowledged by men of all parties that
the promises made by the English at the time of the annexation
were not kept.t Late in 1880 the republican flag was again
hoisted; war and the battle of Majuha hill followed, and in 1881
the Transvaal was again acknowledged independent,* though
with the reservation of British suzerainty. In 1884 the relation
of the two countries was further modified by a convention, which
is still in force. In this document the only substantial right re-
served to Great Britain is that of ratifying treaties between the
republic and foreign jiowers.

An attempt has been made in the foregoing paragra))hs to
show the origin of the hostility and distrust with which the
Boers regard the English, hut it is not to he inferre<l that the

♦ I'roclamaiion of annexation ami aiMre.<is of Sir T. Sliepatone. Tlie annexation was
nominally provisional. In 1879 Sir Garnet Wolseley announced tliat it sliould continue
“ forever.’"

t .Mr Nixon write.s : “ Nor were any of the otlier promises which were expres.sed or
implied at the time of the annexation carried out.”

JThe Kffater part of tlie above historical notes are taken from MrG. McC. 'I'heid's
History of .‘<outh Africa. 4 vols. Mr Theid is generally acknowledged to he a trust-
worthy and impartial iiistorian.

358

THE WITWATERSRAND AND

British policy in South Africa has been one of consistent and
deliberate oppression. Vacillating it has been, through changes
in party government, through ignorance in the colonial office of
conditions in South Africa, and through the idiosyncrasies of
arbitrary or doctrinaire commissioners. Many of the British
governors have lost reputation and have been recalled in conse-
quence of their mistakes, l^ut South Africa has gained little by
the penalties meted out to her rulers. In public affairs enlight-
ened wisdom is more useful than virtue ; for wrongs, though
unintentionally committed, can seldom be righted or even full}’’
atoned for.*

Gold had been discovered in the Transvaal in the T^ydenburg
district as early as 1867, and prior to 1881 it had been found at
other points as well, but none of these discoveries were of a very
sensational character. The marvelous deposits of the Witwaters-
rand were detected in 1885.

The Witwatersrand as a gold-producing district has no parallel
in history. It is now producing from an area no larger than the
District of Columbia at the rate of more than S40, 000,000 worth
of gold annually, and, as has been mentioned, there are good
reasons for l)elieving that the ultimate total production will be
a])proximately 83,500,000,000, or about ten times the total value
of the })roduct of the Comstock lode.t Production did not l^egin
till 1887. Of course, Johannesburg, the chief town of the district,
greAV with the utmost raj)idity.

A census of the district within three miles of Market square
was taken in July last. It showed 51,225 whites and 51,849
colored people. Doubtless the enumerators missed some resi-
dents, but })robably no large proportion of them.

The sudden development of this vast industry naturally pro-
duced a profound effect upon the financial circumstances of the
Transvaal, although the Burghers did not take part in the ex-
])loitation of gold. The Boers sold land at enormous valuations,
furnished transportation at high rates, sold produce at famine
j)rices, and levied most profitable taxes. How greatly they bene-

*The loyfilty of many Englishmen is so extreme that they esteem it a blessing for
any people to come under English domination, whether willingly or otherwise. They
cannot understand how people can prefer independence to the British rule. This fact
explains many instances of aggression which to an American seem without excuse.

t.\s estimated by the Mint Bureau of the United States, the Comstock produced up
to January 1, 1890, about $149,000,000 worth of gold. If silver is reckoned at the coin-
ing value, or $1.2929 per fine ounce, the total product of che lode is estimated at
$357,472,620.85. 'I'he gold is about 42 per cent of the total value. Last year the produc-
tion of this great lode fell below a million dollars.

THE REVOLT OF THE UlTLANDERS

359

fited by the mining industry from a pecuniary point of view is
illustrated by the fact that the public revenue in 1894 was six
times that in 1886. The Boers did not foster the foreign com-
munity on the Rand, in spite of its beneficial influence upon
their finances. On the contrar}^, they held aloof, and actually
threw many obstacles in the way of the progress of the industry.
They evidently regarded the immigration as a new and insidious
form of British invasion. The independence which they had
achieved by remarkable efforts and sacrifices was jeopardized b}^
a peaceful inroad, and they were in danger of losing their free-
dom by a process of absorption into a larger community growing
in their own midst.

That they should resist this new form of conquest by every
means available to them was inevitable. Indeed, any other
course would have belied their entire history. The most evident
means of retaining control of their own destiny was to render
the acquirement of the franchise difficult if not impossible, and
this perhaps indispensable measure was promptly taken.

So far as I can learn, both the liberal or progressive party and
the conservative or Dopper party of the republic are in accord
as to the polic}'’ of practically denying the franchise to foreigners.
On other points they differ. The conservatives, who are repre-
sented by the present administration, do not include among their
members a sufficient number of educated and ])rofessionalunen
to fill the offices rendered needful by the new order of things.
They cannot draw largely on the opposition to fill these places,
and few of the Cape Boers, being British subjects, are available
for the execution of the anti-English policy.* Hence it is to
Holland that President Kruger is almost forced to turn for edu-
cated men of Dutch si)eech to carry out the Dopper program.
The railway, too, from Delagoa bay to Johannesburg and other
})oints in the Transvaal is-in the hands of the Netherlands Rail-
way Company,! a fact which tends greatly to increase the inllu-
ence of the Dutch in the Transvaal. It would also seem to be
a deliberate plan with the conservative [)arty to offset and mini-
mize English influence as far as possible Ijy tliat of the Nether-
lands, from which the republic has nothing to fear.

* Acconling lo Mr Weasels, in ft lecture deli vereil in 1H04, tlio I'enr of lietniyiil to P'ng.
liiml is fi-ftiikly stated iis ii sutticient reiison for not appointing Cape Boers to office in
tlie Transvaal.

t'l'lie concession for this road was originally conferred under President Burgers in
187'i, hut I lie road was only completed so as to connect witli tlie Cape system in IHOI. 1 1
is sai<l to he the most jirolitahle railway in tlie world. The repuhlic has the right to
take possession of it.

100

THE WITWATERSRAND AND

The Dutch, or, as tliey are called in South Africa, the “ Hol-
landers,” are not popular with the })rogressive party, which
could fill many of the offices with its own members. Neither
is it the policy of this party to foster the influence of the Nether-
lands in the republic. The liberal party, as I gather, holds that
so long as the control of the countiy is retained to the Burghers
by limiting the franchise, any undue influence of the English
can be obviated with little aid from Europe.* The mining com-
munity detests the Hollanders, for it is through them that nearly
all the obstructive policy of the government is carried out. It
is cliarged that the Hollander officials are very corrupt, and that
some of them are so is certain. It is not, however, to be su[)-
posed that all of these members of an honorable nation are bad,t
and that many of them are able is be3"ond question. Dr Le}'ds
has shown himself a statesman of a very high order. Among
the assistants he has chosen there must be many intelligent
enough to appreciate the expedienc}’’ of honest3^ That bribery
exists, however, and that mining companies bribe on a large
scale is certain. Bribes are said to be indispensable.

It may be suspected that a large part of the Hollanders are in
Africa to make their fortunes, with the intention of returning to
Europe when this end is accomplished. If so, they are most
undesirable officials or even burghers. No man of ordinarv
virtue who does not identify himself with the country in which
he lives, to whom that country is not “ home,” will use official
})Ower or the franchise consistently for the best interests of a
community from which he longs to be gone.

The Uitlanders of the Rand were, and are, extremely discon-
tented under the Doj)per policy of exclusion, obstruction, and
repression. The}^ considered themselves superior to the Burghers
and a benefit to the country, and they were indignant at the
favor shown to the Hollanders. The}^ desired to manage local
affairs in their own way, and above all to be unobstructed in the
accumulation of wealth and in the develoi)ment of the mining
industrv. The waj^ to attain these desires which most naturall}"
suggested itself to the Anglo-Saxon mind was to obtain the fran-
chise on terms similar to those exacted in English colonies and
in the United States. It is not clear that anj^ large portion of

* At tlie last presidential election, in I89:t, Mr Kruger was elected by a majority of
only 843 over General Joubert, the progressive candidate and now Vice-President, in
a total vote of 14,944.

t Mr Wessels says that among the Hollanders you will find “ worthy descendants of a
race that can boast of Egmont and Horn, of Hugo de Groot and Olden Barneveld.”

VOL. VII, 1896, PL. XXXVII

CROSSING THE UMBELOSI RIVER, SWAZIELAND

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THE REVOLT OF THE lUTLANDERS

361

the English and American residents were attached to the Trans-
vaal in the sense of regarding it as a permanent home. Most of
them meant or hoj)ed to return to Europe or America, and it is
}>robable that even had tlie full franchise been obtainable after
live years’ residence, few Anglo-Saxons would have abjured
allegiance to England or the United States.* It was for business
purposes that they desired a voice in puldic affairs, and few of
them realized that, to the Boers, granting the franchise seemed
equivalent to self-destruction.

So far as I can learn, the great mistake of the Boers was in
giving the Uitlanders grave cause for desiring to control the
legislation affecting them and the industiw the}' had built up.
The Uitlanders could have been quieted by judicious consid-
eration for their convenience, Avithout the franchise and with-
out danger to the independence or the national character of the
rejAuhlic. A prosperous community like that of the Rand Avould
bear extremely heavy taxation Avith little murmuring; but a
prosperous and energetic community is the very last to submit
patiently to discomfort, favoritism, and maladministration be-
yond its OAvn control.

The grievances of the Uitlanders have been very real indeed,
and the foreigner on the Rand has not been alloAved to forget for
an hour at a time that he Avas a member of an ill-governed com-
munity. A feAV facts Avill illustrate this condition. The toAvn of
Johannesburg, though containing over 50,000 Avhite inhabitants,
has no perfected system of lighting, no system of drainage, and
no general Avater supply. There is abundance of Avater in the
neighborhood, but the laAV of riparian rights, being framed for a
purely agricultural population, is such that no Avater rights can
be acquired if a single affected landoAvner objects. The toAA-n
has no general municipal government, though there is a board
of health. The state has refused until lately to aid education,
except Avhen conducted in Dutch. Public meetings of more than
six ])ersons may l;e dispersed at the di.scretion of the police. The
charges of the Netherlands Railway Company are entirely un-
controlled by laAA', and on a })ortion of its line its tariff reaches
the utterly exorbitant rate of six cents }>er ton ))cr mile on coal.
The company makes ])rolits of 100 per cent, and yet it is not
taken over by the state, Avhich has the legal right to assume its
OAvnership. No dynamite is made in the Transvaal, yet a mo-

* It if) prolinble tiint ti eonf)i<lerable number of AfricnmlerH woiibl iintiirulize if tlie
condition)) were not too onerous. The Burghers, iiowever, dread the influence of the
" EiiKliah-minded ” Africander.

802

THE WITWATERSRAND AND

no))oly of its sale has been ^ranted to a compaii}' which pays the
frovernment something over five sliillings j>er case and charges the
miners 85 shillings, of wiiicli about 36 shillings is ])rofit. Other
concessions of a like character have been threatened, though not
carried out as yet. Until August, 1896, the government insisted
upon allowing grog-shops accessible to the blacks to be kept
open in the immediate neighborhood of the mines and mills,
with lamentable results. There is no commission or any body
of officials cliarged Avitli the general administration of the dis-
trict to whom api>eals can be addressed or from whom assistance
can be obtained. Taxation is so arranged as to fall almost ex-
clusively on the Uitlanders, and it has not been reduced, altbough
the treasury has a large sur|)lus and although there are no in-
dustries to be protected. Many of the officials with whom the
Uitlanders come in contact are open to bribery and, it is alleged,
will not act except when paid to do so.

It is easy to imagine how ver}^ seriously business Avas and is
hampered by these abuses. No fair-minded })erson can aA’oid
symj)atbizing with the exasperation of capitalists or mine man-
agers at the needless difliculties thrown in their Avay and the
unjust exactions laid upon them. Enterprising and determined
men could not be expected to submit tamely to such conditions,
and it is not wonderful that resentment should have carried
tncm beyond tbe limits of prudence or moderation. In consid-
ering the grievances, however, it will be ap})arent that they bear
as a whole much more heavily on capitalists and business men
than on em})loyes. White miners, machinists, and mining engi-
neers have almost without exception received higher ])ay and
also made more money on the Rand during the last few years
than ever before or in any other region. The direct personal
discomforts to which theyvhave been subjected have not been
greater than the}" would have undergone in the mining camps
of the IJnited States or of Australia, all of Avhich are much
smaller than this. Thus it cannot be denied that the direct and
tangible grievances are mainly capitalists’ grievances and that
the revolt is a capitalist revolt. The employes in joining the
movement were influenced by a sense of irritation due to needless
deprivation and discomfort and the knowledge that the source
of their prosperity was endangered by oppressive exactions.

It is quite obvious that these causes of complaint could be
removed by the exercise of a little of the good judgment with
which the executive is abundantly supplied. The problem is

THE REVOLT OF THE UITLANDERS

363

vastly less difficult than those with which President Kruger and
Dr Leyds have successful!}" grappled during the past few months.
This district might be governed by commissioners and a judiciary
appointed by the president of the republic, almost precisely as
the District of Columbia is administered. The efficiency of such
an administration would depend only on securing al^le and
honest men, and it is absurd to doubt that the Transvaal can
secure the services of such. The present tyrannical oppres-
sion of the Rand disgraces a people to whom no sacrifices were
too great for the attainment of their own freedom. They should
be the first to appreciate the hardships under which the Uit-
landers are suffering, and to show the value they themselves
put on liberty by imposing no unjust restraints upon others.

The Uitlanders made repeated efforts, by passing resolutions
and presenting petitions, to obtain the franchise and the redress
of grievances. These efforts extended over several years, hut
they met with no success. During the closing months of 1895
the agitation for reform was accentuated. The discontent of the
Uitlanders was at this stage fomented under the guise of sym-
pathy by residents of other portions of South Africa with a view
to creating disturbances in the republic for ulterior ends. The
idea was broached of making an armed demonstration, which it
Avas hoped might impress the Boers sufficiently to bring about
the desired changes. This seemed possible, because the Uit-
landers are supposed to number about 50,000 men and the
Boers only about 25,000 * adult males.

The plan of threatening the government with force of arms
Avas unfortunate from its very inception. Many of the Uitlanders
felt that Avhile the grievances Avere sore, they Avere not great
enough to justify armed revolt, and these men AvithdreAv from
the movement. The seceders Avere chiefly those least susceptil)le
to the influence of the ]>urely English element in South Africa,
viz., the Germans and a feAV Frenchmen. The bad feeling and
even alienation arising from this defection is not yet allayed. The
split in the Chamber of Mines, Avhich is noAV unfavorably affect-
ing business, Avas one of its results. AN’hile the Boers Avere fully
equipi)od, the foreigners Avere almost unarmed, and the importa-
tion of arms is under legal restrictions, originating in the neces-
sity of limiting or sui)pressing the sale of guns to the blacks.
To procure arms in any (piantity. therefore, it was necessary to

♦ This is Mr Ctmries Leonard's estimate. Tlio Boers on tlmt imsis must count a total
population of something like 125, (KKi. The Uitlanders in the repuhlic are very largely
bactielors and prohahly number sometliing like 75,000 men, women, and children.

THE WITWATERSRAXD AND

‘M'A

smuggle them. A few tliousand were brought in secreted under
coke. A portion of tliese arms was forwarded by memlier.s of
the British South Africa Com])any, l)etter known as the Char-
tered Company. An arrangement was also made with Dr Jame-
son, and it lias been alleged at his suggestion, that if matters
were to go wrong at Johannesburg and the Boers should attack
it the Chartered Company’s administrator should come to the
rescue with a body of men who as a matter of fact were chiefly
]tolicemen of the compain'.

The National Union had formed no plot against the independ-
ence of the republic, their idea lieing either to frighten the ad-
ministration into granting redress of grievances or at most to
substitute forcibly a more liberal administration for the present
one. Such an administration would treat commerce more gen-
erously and stimulate trade with Cajie Colon}'. This, in the
opinion of the Uitlanders, would sufhciently rejiay Dr Jameson,
if, indeed, he re<piired reward for coming to the re.scue of his
countrymen and countrywomen in case of need.

The union issued a manifesto, defining its demands, on Decem-
ber ‘2b, 1805. On the 30th news was received that Dr Jameson
had cro.ssed the border, contrary to agreement and in spite of
requests on the part of the leaders of the union to remain beyond
the boundary. The same day the reform committee was formed
expressly because, as the notice to members states, Jameson’s
crossing the border ‘‘ renders it necessary to take active steps for
the defense of Johannesburg and the jireservation of order.”
Befiire dawn on the morning of the 31st the leaders received
information that on Jameson’s arrival the British flag would be
lioisted. This was portentous news for all parties. Without any
consent on their own part, the reformers were made partners in
an atteinjit at conquest instead of reformation. For the Ameri-
cans the situation was particularly grave. For an American to
assist in overthrowing a republic in order to aggrandize a mon-
arch v would l)e to forfeit all respect from his countrymen. There
is not the slightest evidence tliat any one of the seven Americans
on the committee either contemplated such a crime or welcomed
the situation thrust U{)on them. Mr John Hays Hammond, the
only American among the leaders, took the aj)propriate step as
soon as possible after daylight. He hoisted the Transvaal flag
and he both demanded and obtained an oath of allegiance to it
from the members of the reform committee, some eighty in all ;
but for this fortunate action the trial of the reformers in April

NAT. GEOG. MAG. VOL. VII, 1896, PL. XXXVIII

FLYING THE TRANSVAAL FLAG ON THE OFFICES OF THE REFORM COMMITTEE, JOHANNESBURG, DECEMBER 31, 1895

THE REVOLT OF THE EITLANDERS

365

would have had more serious consequences. I am not aware that
any member, either American or English, demurred to the oath.

The reform committee was a direct and inevitable consequence
of the arming of the Uitlanders, coui^led with Jameson’s inva-
sion. The Boers could not be expected to understand on the spur
of the moment that Jameson had invaded the country in con-
travention of a distinct agreement. The Uitlanders were there-
fore from the Boer point of view engaged in an attempt to con-
quer the countiy ; they were public enemies and subject to attack.
Knowing this, and not knowing whether the Boers would exer-
cise any forbearance, it seemed needful to the Uitlanders to
organize themselves for self-defense.

In the rank and file of the reform committee there were six
Americans. Messrs T. Mein. Joseph Story Curtis, and Victor
Clement are well known, both in the United States and in Africa,
as mining experts and managers ; Mr Charles Butters is a metal-
lurgist who has had remarkable success in improving the chem-
ical treatment of gold ores; Mr H. J. King is a partner in the
mine-owning firm of S. Neumann & Co., London, and Mr F. R.
Lingham is a timber merchant. These men joined the com-
mittee very rashly, it is true. They did not know to what ex-
tent the Uitlander party had become implicated in treasonal)le
procedures, nor did they stop to inquire. They assumed that
nothing further was involved than organization for self-defense,
and signed their names without adopting any of the precautions
which they would have exercised in putting their signatures to
any Imsiness documents of relativel}'’ trifling import. Of care-
lessne.ss they certainly cannot he acciuitted, Imt I have not been
able to ascertain, either from Uitlanders or Burghers, that there
is the slightest shadow of implication in real treason resting on
any one of these Americans. Many of the Englishmen asso-
ciated with them were equally guiltle.ss. It is now easy for the
dullest to see that the Americans would have l>een wiser to take
no part in the Uitlanders’ revolt. In those Decemljer days, on tlie
other hand, it was very diflicult to steer an even course over the
boiling tide of events, avoiding the headland of Rashness and the
maelstrom of Pusillanimity. If some of our men went ashore,
they have taken their mishap like men ; there has been no at-
tempt to shift the blame and no whining over the issue. 'I'heir
conduct, at any rate, has been such as we expect, and have a
right to expect of Americans.

Every one knows that the revolt ended in a dismal liasco. The

366

THE WITWATERSRAND AND

Transvaal government was evidently prepared for the invasion.
Jameson and his troopers were captured with all their docu-
ments and even the key to their cipher dispatches. The Johan-
nesburgers laid down their arms, and most of the reform com-
mittee were arrested. At their trial, in April, four of the leaders,*
including Mr Hammond, pleaded guilt}”, on advice of counsel, to
higli treason, and the remainder pleaded guilty to lese majeste,t
excepting Mr Curtis, who was detained by illness in Cape Town.
His trial was postponed. The leaders were condemned to death
on April 28, hut the next day their sentence Avas reduced to
fifteen years’ imprisonment. The rank and file of the reform
committee were given terms of imprisonment ranging from a few
months to a couple of years. For some weeks no further miti-
gation of sentence was announced, and during this interval the
government took occasion to imhlish telegrams and mai)S cap-
tured from Jameson’s party, showing hoAV delil)erate had been
the ])lot to de})rive the repul)lic of its inde))endence. Sucli of
tlie mass of the reformers as signed a petition for mercy Avere
then discliarged, on payment of a fine of £2,000 each. Tavo of
them only, both Englishmen, refused to sign any appeal for
clemency, and these gentlemen, Avhose attitude seems to most
jAeople a mistaken one, still remain in jail, so far as I am informed.
Early in June the leaders also Avere released, on payment of the
heavy fine of £25,000 each. They Avere given permission to re-
main in the Transvaal on condition of signing a pledge not to
meddle in the affairs of the republic. This Colonel Frank Rhodes
refused to do, and he Avas jn’omptly escorted to the border. Mr
Curtis, when sufficiently recovered from a very dangerous illness,
])resented himself in July for trial, but refused to plead guilty.
The government, hoAvever, declined to j)roceed against him under
plea of not guilty, evidently because it Avas loath to reopen the
Avhole disagreeable question. I understand that Mr Curtis has
contributed £2,000, the amount his comrades Avere fined, to the
charities of the TransA'aal, not caring to take pecuniary advantage
of his exceptional position. ^

The surrender of Dr Jameson and his officers to the British

*Mr Charles Leonard, one of the five leaders, left the country before the arrest of
the reform committee. The other leaders were Messrs George Farrar, Lionel Phillips,
and Frank Rhodes.

tThe prisoners understood that there was an understanding between their counsel
and the prosecution that the plea of guilty would be followed by a mild sentence. This
arrangement is wholly denied by the prosecution and, according to Reuter, by counsel
for the defense. 1 have not been able to ascertain the origin of the misunderstanding.
A trial would have resulted in much ill-feeling, and it is as well that it was avoided.

THE REVOLT OF THE UlTL ANDERS

367

authorities by the government of the Transvaal and their subse-
quent trial in London need not be dwelt upon. The leader was
condemned to fifteen months in prison, without special privileges,
but he was shortl}^ afterwiu’d granted the status of a first-class
misdemeanant as an act of clemency. So far as I could learn,
the sentences passed on the raiders were regarded in the Trans-
vaal as adequate but not excessive. The share of Mr Cecil Rhodes
and of the Chartered Company in responsibility for the raid is
still to be investigated.

Quiet once more reigns in the Transvaal. The Uitlanders are
again pressing for reforms, but there is no thought of revolt. The
Burghers are now alive to the need of reforms, and as tliey seem
amdhing but vindictive, I believe they will gradually concede
what a sense of justice demands.

The Reformers, though veiy able men in their own professions,
have been mere puppets in the hands of men whose designs were
much larger and more dubious than the correction of the Uitland-
ers’ grievances. The honest sorene.ss of the foreigners over their
wrongs was taken advantage of to excite them to a rebellion not
justified b}^ the provocation. The Transvaal government showed
little business ability in giving or tolerating even a shadow of
excuse for rebellion, but in the active contest which followed it
displayed an astuteness for wdiich the ability of its enemies was
no match. The union of South Africa under British hegemony,
for which Mr Rhodes has labored so persistently, seems further
off than ever. The Transvaal burghers are substantially Dutch ;
so are the citizens of the Free State; so, too, are four-fifths of
the Cape Colonists. The bond of S3unpathy betweeqthe Boers
throughout South Africa has been drawn much closer during
the past few months. The Africander League in Cape Colony,
which aims at “Africa for the Africanders ”, i. e., ])ractically for
the Boers, is much .stronger than it was, and the wliole race now
sees in the Transvaal, which is arming to tlie teeth, an intel-
lectual abilit}’’ to cope with the larger questions of politics which
has not hitherto been availalfie. It seems toda}' as if the posi-
tion of the South African Republic in this region were verv much
like that of Prussia in the divided (Jermany of fort3’^-ono vears
ago. The whole c<mntry is in a state of tension, and a blunder-
ing policy on the part of the Paramount Power might have un-
usually serious consecpiences. 'I'lius South Africa will prol)ablv
command a larger measure of interest and attention from the
world henceforth than hitherto.

THE ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF SOIL EROSION

By Du X. S. Shalkr,

Professor of Geology in Harvard University and Dean of (he Laurence
Scimtific School

As the scattered drops of a shower gather into streams the
water begins to act in an erosive way. If this gathering takes
]»lace at the height of five thousand feet above the sea, each pound
of the fluid has a store of energy of position, which we term five
tliousand foot-pounds, which it is to expend on its path to the
sea. When the rain comes down on highlands, the first stage
of its journey to the sea is commonly made at high speed in tor-
rents. In the torrential division of a river system we always find
the surface cast into steep-sloped valle3’s. Generally the whole
surface is composed of inclines ranging in declivitv' from five to
thirty degrees or more, on which surfaces the soil, if it be present,
is alwavs moving down the incline at a variable rate. At times
(especially’ yvhen softened by’ the frosts of yvinter and filled yvith
yvater) the earth on these steep hillsides slips in the manner of
a landslide down to the bed of the stream. There it for a short
time blocks the yvay of the torrent, but it is swiftly carried doyvn
to the riy’er channels. Commonly' the moy’ements of these earth
masses is in the manner of a glacier, sloyv, but steadfast, amount-
ing to a few lines or a few inches a year; rarely to a foot or two
in that length of time. So general is this movement that although
not readily’ noted yvithout precise observations it maj’ b\’ accu-
rate observations be determined on nearly all steep slo]>es which
are covered yvith a thick layer of soil. During the movement
the expansion of the earth yvater in times of frost, the enlarge-
ment of the roots yvhich penetrate the soil, and in a measure the
process of yvetting and dr^’ing the detritus operate to thrust the
mass, the movement being in all cases in the direction in yvhich
gravit}’ inclines it to go. Arriving at the margin of the torrent?
the procession of the detritus is cut ayvay by the syviftly moving
yvaters and sent on its yvay to the sea.

As above indicated, this process of erosion by the slipping of
the soil toyvard the torrent beds is characteristic of all steeply

368

THE ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF SOIL EROSION

369

turned fields. So Ion? as the earth is covered hy the normal
forest growth the strong roots are likely to pass through the soil
and fix themselves in the crevices of the underlying rocks and
clamp, so to speak, the loose materials in their place. In this
way it comes about that one of the effects of deforesting a coun-
try, even where the lesser vegetation is allowed to develop, is to
increase the rate at which the soil goes away to the streams. As
yet this countiy has not been long enough exposed to the de-
structive effects of tillage to afford striking instances of the effect
of the reckless war which is waged upon the woods by the sav-
ages who play that they are the agents of civilization. In Europe
examples of the irreparable damage which may thus be wrought
abound. Perhaps the most striking are to be found in the Aj)-
enines, near Florence, where it is possible to walk for miles on
mountain slopes without setting foot on anything but hare rock
fields, which a century or so ago bore heavy forests nurtured
in a fertile, if not deep, soil. The last of the IMedicis who held
these woods as crown lands cut the timber without any provision
for the replacement of the trees, with the result that the fine soil,
before it had time to obtain protection from plants, was swept
away. In this manner a great area has been doomed to age-
long sterility and a region made desolate which might with
proper management have continued to be helpful to man for an
unlimited period.

The mountainous countries of the Old World, with their vast
reaches of bare rock slopes, which down to recent centuries were
forest-clad, show the destructive effects of man’s heedless assault
on the earth. In this countiy there has not been time for this
l)rocess of destruction by the axman to manifest itself in a veiy
serious way, yet in the Appalachians we can see the evil in rapid
])rogress. South of Pennsylvania there is, according to my
reckoning, based on observations in every state in that upland
country, an aggregate area of not less than three thousand s(]uare
miles where the soil has been destr()}’ed by the complete removal
of the woods and the consequent ])assage of the earthy matter to
tlie lowlands and to the sea. At the rate at which this process
is now going on, the loss in arable or forestal)le land may safely
he reckoned at not le.ss than one hundred s<puire Jiiiles ])cr
annum ; in other words, we are each year losing to the uses of
man, through unnecessary destruction, a productive capacity
which may he estimated as sudicient to sustain a population of
a thousand people.

370

THE ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF SOIL EROSION

In considering the destruction which the elemental conditions
bring upon a country which is subjected to the tax of civiliza-
tion, the most imjjortant fields to be noted are those of the high-
land districts, for the reason that there the slopes are, on the
average, steepest, the rainfall is greatest, and the action of frost
is most considerable. There the process of erosion is the mo.st
rapid and the results are the most irremediable. There are,
however, no lands in tliis country or in any other where the
waste due to tillage is not notewortliy. Even in tlie prairies,
where the average declivity of tlie surface is not more than one
or two degrees, tlie effect of that baring of the earth which is the
necessary first ste)) of tillage is to send a share of the earthy
matter from the fields to the streams and thence to the seas.
The close observer who will walk for a day during a time of pro-
tracted rain along the banks of a main stream is likely to fiiul
that some of the tributaries carry water which is nearly clear
while others discharge a verN' muddy flow. Examining the
cause of the difference he will note that the relatively clear
brooks come from fields that are not tilled, being either in forest
or grains, while tho.se which are very muddy have a large ]>ro-
portion of their area under plow culture. While the destruction
of a plowed field in a given time is greater in jwoportion to the
steepness of its slope, there are practically no fields, however
slight their declivity, which are not exposed in the same consid-
erable measure to this kind of wasting. In a degree it is the
inevitable accompaniment of tillage, which rests on the jdan of
expelling the natural growth of a soil that place may be made
for artificially imposed vegetation. However carefully the work
may be done and whatever the nature of the crop, the earth is
for the time bared to the a.s.saults of rain and wind.

The question may well be asked whether, if this loss b}^ erosion
is a neces.sary element of tillage, it is not certain that in time all
the soils will go on their way to the sea, and the earth thus be
made unfit for the uses of man. The answer to this is that the
natural regimen of the soil provides a way by which a certain
amount of waste in its mass may be in almost all cases made
good through the decay of the underlying rocks. This is accom-
plished by the action of that part of the rain-water which does
not flow over the surface but finds its wa\’^ into the .soil and is
slowly yielded to the streams in the form of distinct springs, or
more commonl}" in the broad sheet of water which flows down
along the bed-rock or the hard-pan until it enters the drain-

THE ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF SOIL EROSION

371

age channel of the area. This underground water, except in the
rare places where caverns abound, moves very slowly and lias
no erosive effect. What material it takes away — a relatively
small amount— is removed in solution. Penetrating to the bed-
rock, this water, charged with carbonic dioxide and other com-
pounds which add to its decay-bringing effects, attacks the bed-
rocks, breaks them up, and with the assistance of the roots of the
sturdier plants brings the hard stones into the state of soil. In
this way the natural waste derived from the solutions effected
by the underground water, the cutting along the streams, and the
slight wearing of the general surface by water action is compen-
sated for by the steadfast reproduction of the soil at its base.

In the state of nature the rate of degradation of the earth’s
surface over a region such as the Mississippi valley appears by
the studies of Humphries and Abbot to be not far from one foot
in five thousand years. At this rate of erosion, we may from the
field evidence presume that the underground decay will keep
somewhat ahead of the wearing actions, and so the soil rather
gain than lose in depth. Under complete tillage, such as is now
applied, the rate of downwearing will probably become as great
as that which exists in the valley of the Po, where the surface
descends at the rate of about one foot in a thousand }’’ears. Under
these conditions we may be sure that the underground replace-
ment of the soil cannot compensate for the w'earing, and that
consequent!}’- the fertile layer will gradually disappear, as it has
done over large areas in the Old World and is now doing in other
fields of this country.

Before proceeding to questions of a distinctly economic nature
— those which concern the steps which should be taken to arrest
the wasting of our soils — it will be well for us to consider the pro-
cesses and rates of erosion on two of the many varieties of soils
which plentifully exist in this country, namely, those of our
glaciated districts and those found in the alluvial plains beside
the true rivers. The first of these classes constitute about one-
third of the possible agricultural and forestlands of this country ;
the second is of much smaller aggregate area, but on account of
its e.xceeding fertility is of almost equal tillage value.

In glaciated districts exi»erience shows that the risks of de-
structive erosion are relatively small. This is owing to the fact
that the drift covering, which in its superficial modification con-
stitutes the soil of those regions, is almost always com|)osed of
debris so dee[> and so loosely aggregated that the greater [>art

372

THE ECOXOMIC ASPECTS OF SOIL EROSION

of the rain-water enters into the earth and thus is preserved
from doing erosive work. The result is that even in times of
flood the streams draining from these fields covered b}" glacial
debris are never very muddy ; they have no imi)ortant alluvial
j)lains and characteristically lack the deltas or detritic cones
which are such a prominent feature of the streams which flow
from non-glaciated regions. In such fields soil erosion is so slight
that it maj^ give us no concern, except on the .steeper mountain
slopes, where the slii>ping of the deposited soils into the torrents
may occasionally exi)ose the bare rocks.

On the alluvial plains — at least .so long as the down-cutting of
the stream bed does not leave them above the level of the floods —
the annual inundations constantly bring down layers of fertilizing
sediment, and this at a rate which is pretty sure to compensate for
any waste which the most reckless agriculture can bring about.
Such soils, unlike those of our ordinary fields, grow by accessions
on the surface and not by the decay of the bed-rocks. It is to this
constant superficial gain in fertile materials that they owe their
j)eculiar value to man. Alluvial lands are, however, subjected to
a ])eculiar kind of erosion — that brought about by the lateral
swinging of the river channels to and fro in their flood-plains.
These peculiar, iiendulum-like movements of the great rivers
through their delta accumulations are important for the rea.son
that they are not easily controlled and are often disastrous to
the interests of men who dwell upon their banks. The move-
ments are often made in a very raj)id manner; moreover, where
the streams change their courses in one portion of the alluvial
]»lains the regimen of the currents is so altered that the curves
thence downward to the mouth are subject to ra])id modifications.
In this manner the Missis.sipj)i has been endlessly wandering
over the flood-plains between Cairo and the sea.

The natural check to the divagations of a river is found in the
protective action due to the growth of trees upon its banks.
There are many species which have habits of growth that permit
them to flourish in places where their roots and stems are bathed
by the floods for a considerable part of the year. These forms
have fine roots which entangle the sediments deposited at high
water, and they have a habit of growing in close order, so that
their thick-set stems arrest the current and cause a plentiful
deposition of sediment on the gravel which they occupy. If
such a forest develops on one side of a river while the banks on
the oi)posite border are not thus protectee^, the result usually is

THE ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF SOIL EROSION

373

that the wooded shore advances while that which is defenseless
is worn away. Many of the stream-swingings are readily ex-
plained by alternations in the development of the water-loving
trees. Thus, while the oscillations of rivers cannot be altogether
controlled by the planting of these trees, these changes can be
considerably reduced by the proper use of such defenses.

From a large economic point of view, it will readil}^ be seen
that the changes in the -courses of the great rivers are not very
serious, and this for the reason that the area removed on the one
side of the channel is in a manner compensated for b}'’ a growth
on the other side. It is otherwise with the smaller streams which
have slight alluvial jjlains, and which often have their channels
pressed in against either bank. In these cases the water cuts
away the base of the declivity and brings about the rapid move-
ment of the soil down the slope. The loss of tillage area due to
this action is considerable ; from certain studies which I have
made in the countiy in the basin of the Ohio river, especially in
that part of it which lies to the south of the main stream, it ma}'
be reckoned that since the general removal of the forests an area
of not less than 150 square miles, outside of the torrent section
of this river system, has parti j'- or completel}^ lost its soil through
this action.

We have now glanced at the several modes in which the solar
energy, operating through the instrumentalit}" of the winds, the
waves, and the rain, tends to remove the detrital covering of the
earth on Avhich the substance of all land life depends. We may
note in summing-up the matter that the attack of the waves is
practically irresistible, but that its effect is graduall}' to diminish
the area of the lands, the process going on so slowly that the
immediate effect on human interests is veiy small. ^Moreover,
as one part of the lands is worn away, compensation is generally
made by the uplifting of other areas above the ocean level. The
work of the winds in blowing away the friable earth coating is
slight, and that for the reason that the surfiice is well ])rotected
by the coating of vegetation. It is when we come to consider
the action of the rain that we find ourselves face to face with the
really important economic ])rohlems of erosion. ^Ve have seen
that in the state of nature the lands are provided against the
destruction of tlie soil which the rainfall would otherwise cause
b\' the admirably contrived ]>rotection afforded by the vegetal
coating. If man occupied the earth under the same conditions
as the other creatures of the land, he would not disturb the an-

374

THE ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF SOIL EROSION

cient and beautiful relations of the earth and its living mantle.
In this case the wasting of the soil would go on, hut at a rate no
greater than it would he rej)laced hy the decay of the upper part
of the hed-rocks. The continents would gradually he lowered
hy the leaching out of the mineral matters in their superficial
debris, and in some measure hy the direct wearing action of the
streams, hut the life-giving covering would descend from stage
to stage, affording at each step such fertility as the rocks on which
it lay might determine.

d'he primitive man disturbed the conditions of the soil no
more than did the lower animals. He made avail of the natural
products of forest, field, and stream, never stirring the earth ex-
cept, it might he, to bury his dead ; hut in the first step upward
he began his manly career as a devastator. He became a soil-
tiller, and with the invention of this art began the greatest revo-
lution in the economics of the earth that has ever been instituted
by a living being. Each extension of civilization has widened
the field of destruction, until nearly one-half of all the land is
sul)ject to its ravages. It is now a question whether human
culture, which rests upon the use of the soil, can devise and
enforce wa}’S of dealing with the earth which will preserve this
source of life so that it may siq)j)ort the men of the ages to come.
If this cannot he done, we must look forward to the time — re-
mote it may he, yet clearly discernible — when our kind, having
wasted its great inheritance, will fade from the earth because of
the ruin it has accomplished. It should he the province of
science to point the way to the remedy for this ill.

It seems to me to he the }>oint of first importance to make clear
to the peoi)le the conditions under which the earth can he made
to yield its fruits without destructive tax upon its resources. To
attain this end they need, in the first place, to know that the
rainfall which Hows over the surface is that which does the work
of soil destruction ; so far as this surface water acts on the soil
its inti Lienee is evil. The share of the rain which enters the
earth does not, until it emerges in the temporary springs, do any
erosion work whatever. In a variable measure it removes the
soil materials in the state of complete solution, to appear as the
mineral matter of the springs; hut this very limited destructive
effect is on all naturally protected soils more than compensated
for hy the action of the ground water in promoting the decay of
the hed-rocks, a process by which the soil is deepened and en-
riched. In the state of nature all the rainfall is indirectly led

THE ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF SOIL EROSION

375

underground and made to do its appropriate work. In the con-
dition of our ill-organized tillage so large a share of the precipi-
tation is sent in its destructive superficial Avay that the lower soil
often lacks the share of moisture which is necessary for the work
of decay in the underlying rock, and which would be most use-
ful to the crops in time of drought.

Although it is very difficult to make a newly overturned soil
safe from the assaults of the rain, I believe that with a careful
and in a large way economical S3^stem of tillage it can be done,
at least provided the inventors can help us over certain me-
chanical difficulties. In the first place it should be noted that
the plow, which has been much vaunted as a noble contrivance,
is as ordinarily used an instrument which most effectivel}" serves
to compact the earth, so that when the few inches of ground
tilled become soaked with water the fluid cannot penetrate into
the deeper part of the earth. The reason for this injurious action
can readily be understood. The pressure of the foot of the [flow,
due to the counter -thrust of the force used in dragging it forward
through the earth as well as to the weight of the instrument,
serves in a very effective way to compact and smear the surface
over which it passes. When the frost penetrates deepl.y, the
heaving action which it effects operates in a measure to overcome
this effect of the jdIow, but in almost all fields, especially those
of the southern part of this country, the artificial hard-pan is to
the skilled eye most evident. It needs but a comparison of a bit
of land which has been long under the plow with a like area
still in virgin forest to show the true measure of this action.
The one is for a few inches in depth moderately open, but at a
lower level is so hard that water can penetrate it only in a slow
way ; the other is open-textured to so great a depth that the rain
and roots can penetrate in most cases to the rock which has not
yet been broken up.

There is needed an instrument which will turn the soil in
the manner of the spade, a tool which does not pack the under
earth, but leaves it in a position very favorable to the downward
movement of the water. As my friends who know tlie nature
of meclianics tell me that it will be dillicult to make such a con-
trivance, we ma^' have to content ourselves for a considerable
time to come with the ancient, but to 1113'^ mind by no means
venerable, utensil which has alreadv Pent the substance of mil-
lions of men to the sea. There are ways of using the plow l>v
which its evils may be minimized. In the first place, the tilth

376

THE ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF SOIL EROSION

should be made as deep as it well can be. The void spaces in
the ground which is overturned to the depth of ten inches will if
the earth be ordinarily dry take in a rainfall of an inch or per-
haps an inch and one-half in depth falling in, sa}", two hours,
without au}^ surface flow; while if the depth of the tillage be but
five inches half the water would have to pass over the surface.
The well-known, but unhappily little used, ])rocess of subsoil
plowing if discreetly used is also a valuable means of effecting
the penetration and storage of water; underdraining also tends
to the same end. In certain parts of the southern states of this
countrv, where the evil effects of the surface flow have forced
themselves upon the attention of the ])eo])le, the farmers have
begun to guard against the destructive action of this agent liy
forming temporary benches in the sloping fields. In the Old
W'orld the system of benching the hillsides is carried much farther
than it is in any part of this country. In Germany, France, and
Italy the greater }>art of the land that lies on steep declivities
which have not been brought to ruin in the earlier and less
conservative agriculture is now protected from destruction. Al-
though we may ex{)ect a constant gain in the api)lication of this
conservative treatment of our fields, we cannot look to it alone
for their safeguarding. Another class of ])recaution demanded
b\" the elemental conditions of this country must be taken, and
that we will now note.

Owing to the fact that in North America generall}^ the rain-
fall is apt to have a torrential character (the ])recipitation taking
■])lace at a rate which is not common in Europe) and to the fact
that these downpourings are likely to occur on ground which
has been loosened by the frost, our soils are exposed to a meas-
ure of danger much greater than that which menaces the fields
of the. Old World. There appears to be but one way by which
we ma}^ meet this danger — this is by limiting the work of the
plow to those fields which have a degree of slope so slight that
with i)i’oi)er tillage they may not be exposed to scouring action.
Although this classification has to be made for each district and
species of soil, it may in general be said that no field which has
a greater sloi)e than five feet vertical in one hundred feet of
length should in any countiy be exj)Osed to the danger which
ordinary cropping inflicts. Areas from this measure of inclina-
tion upward to thrice this rate of slope, or to a maximum of
fifteen feet in the hundred, may reasonably be ]fiowed in order
to bring them into the state of grass lands, but should not be

CRITICAL PERIOD IN SOUTH AFRICAN HISTORY 377

tilled more than is necessaiy to retain them in this state. All
areas having a slope of more than fifteen feet in one hundred
should, by the rules which the conservator of the soils is dis-
posed to lay down, be devoted to forests, which afford the only
crop that can be harvested from such ground without a swift and
irremediable loss of fertility.

It may be asked how these rules can be enforced. After much
consideration of the matter, I am satisfied that our only reliance
is on an education which will bear in upon our people the duty
the}" owe to the soil and the ways in which they may discharge
this great obligation. Our folk are dutiful ; at every step in
their advance they have striven, not for the moment’s profit, but
for the good of generations to come. If this admirable motive
be impressed by knowledge, we can trust to it for the remedy.
The scarred and unfertile fields of this country, which, to the
extent of millions of acres, mark the results of a few generations’
life upon areas which nature fitted for the unending support of
man, are not evidences of lack of care on the part of the people
who brought this r*uin. They were of the breed which willingly
lays down life for an idea, for a belief in creed or state. Teach
them what the soil means to their kind, instruct them in the
arts by which it may be cared for, and we may trust, as we needs
must, to the fruit of this knowledge.

It is much to be deplored that there is not in our schools a
single book to tell the youth what every one should know con-
cerning the foundations of life in the soil or the conditions under
which the generation to which he belongs may pass on the
precious heritage to those who are to come after. Such instruc-
tion can alone be enforced through the exertions of those who
have been brought to see the truth and who are willing to labor
for its diffusion.

A CRITICAL PERIOD IN SOUTH AFRICAN HISTORY

The years 1876-’77, of Avhich it was beside the purjjose of Mr
George F. Becker to treat in his long and interesting article on
the Witwatersrand and the Revolt of the Uitlanders, constituted
one of the most critical periods in South African history. 'I'he
story of the succe.ssive crushing defeats inflicted upon the Boers
by the Kaffirs, of the bankruptcy of the Boer national treasury,
of the demoralization of the Boers themselves, of the state of

378 CRITIC A L PERIOD IN SO UTH A ERICA N IIISTOR Y

aiiarcliy into which the re{)ublic drifted, of the danger of a gen-
eral uprising of the natives throughout the whole of South Africa,
of tlie appeal made to the British government by a portion of the
Boer nation, and of the strenuous efforts of the president of the
republic to arouse the nation at large to a sense of its “ imi)ending
dissolution ” and to induce it to enter a confederation with the
British colonies on the model of the Dominion of Canada is all
impartially related in the volumes of Appletons’ Annual Cyclo-
l)a?dia covering the period in question.*

All writers are agreed that at this time the Boers were utterly
unable to defend themselves against the natives; their forces in
the field had been overwhelmingly defeated and protection for
their families and i)roi)ert3' could be secured only by the pay-
ment of hlacUmail to the native chiefs. To add to the demoral-
ization created hv the success of the Kaffirs in the north the
Zulu king threatened invasion from the south, and the Boers
were declared l)y their own president to be without any proper
ct)Uception of their obligations as a civilized government. Em-
boldened by their success against the republic the natives every-
where assumed a menacing attitude, and a conflagration that
would have overspread the whole of South Africa seemed on the
verge of breaking out. Whether the Boers had at that time any
idea of reasserting tlieir independence after the subjugation of
their enemies bv the British there is no evidence to show, but it
is an indisputal)le fact that they exchanged their independent
sovereignly, such as it was, for British })rotection, if not with an
enthusiasm at variance with their stolid character, at least with
undi.sguised satisfaction and a manifest sense of relief.

Two years or a little more after the annexation of the Trans-
vaal the British, after sustaining several serious reverses, com-
))letely broke the Zulu power and captured its Avarlike king,
CetewaA'o. Three months later Secocoeni, the Kaffir chieftain
to whose military skill the com ]>lete overthrow of the Boers had
l)een largelv due, surrendered to British authority. This sub-
jugation of the natiyes paved the way to that reestablishment of
tlie Boer republic which took place the following A'ear.

\\diile the two cases are not in every respect analogous, the
encroachments of the British on the dominions of the Boers are
not unlike those of our own frontiersmen on the treaty reserva-

*See Appletons’ Annual Cycloptedia, New Series, Vols. I-II, 1876-'77, Articles,
“Africa," “Cape Colony,” and “Transvaal Republic.” See also the Book of Facts,
Harper Brothers, New York, 1895, p. 807.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY

379

tions of the Indians. It is not the national government that is
primarily at fault in either case, but the miner, the trader, the
stock-grower, the land-grabber. In both cases those occupying
tlie countiy are either too ignorant or too shiftless to develop its
resources for themselves, and the temptation to take possession
is too great to be resisted by those restless, dauntless, and ofttimes
ungovernable spirits who have been impelled by some m3^sterious
centrifugal force to the periphery of civilization. J. H.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
SOCIETY, SESSION iSgG-’gy

Special Meeting, October 9, 1896. — President Hubbard in the chair. Vice-
President Greely delivered an address on Recent Geographic Progress,
with Special Reference to Explorations in the Arctic Regions and Africa.

Special Meeting, October 16, 1896. — President Hubbard in the chair. IMr
Geo. F. Becker read a paper, with lantern-slide illustrations, on The AVit-
watersrand and the Uitlanders’ Revolt.

Special Meeting, October 23, 1896. — President Hubbard in the chair. Rev.
John N. MacGonigle, of St. Augustine, Fla., addressed the Society on The
Geography of the Southern Peninsula of the United States, illustrating
his address with lantern slides.

ELECTtoxs. — New members have been elected as follows:

October 9. — AV. H. Beal, Hon. .John B. Cotton, AA’’m. H. Darlington, Miss
E. B. Eakle, Geo. K. French, Maj. Clement de Grandiu’ey (French Em-
bassy), Mrs M. B. Hitz, Chas. AV. Little, Mrs Rosa McCabe, James A.
iNIitchell, C. H. Slioles, Prof. J. F. Sims, W. G. Steele, l\Irs P. IM. Stocking,
Chas. AAh Thompson, AA'^. M. Van Dyke, Fred. C. AA'arman, Fletclier AAMiite,
Rev. Earl M. AVilbur, Dr James AA’^oodrow, AV. Redin AA’^oodward, IMiss
M. Zimmerman.

Obituaky. — The Society has to deplore the deaths of the following
members: IMr Edward Kiibel, an old and much resi)ected citizen of the
Di-strict of Columbia, for many years connected with the U. S. Geological
Survey; Mr Philip S. Abbot, a man of remarkable abilities and one of
the most skillful and intrepid of mountain climbers, who lost his life by
falling down the great precij)ice of Mt. Lefmy, .Alberta, when engaged in
the exi)loration of that almost inacce.ssible mountain, in company with
other well-known members of the .Ai>palacliian Mountain Club; and the
Hon. Edwin AAhllits, Ph. I)., successively Member of Congress, Presidimt
of the Michigan State Agricultural College, .Assistant Secretary of .Agri-
culture, and President of the U. S. Commission for the AA'orM's Columbian
Exposition; also a member from 1892 to 1895 of the Board of Managers

380

GEOGRAPHIC NOTES

of the National Geographic Society ; an able and conscientious executive
otiicer, a wise counsellor, and a faithful friend. J. H.

GEOGRAPHIC NOTES

ASIA

India. The total length of the railways of India on March 31, 1896,
was 19,677 miles, an increase of 822 miles during the year. In addition,
there were 6,789 miles the construction of which Avas sanctioned, but
which were not yet in operation. The proportion of passengers killed
was one in nineteen millions, and the total number either killed or in-
jured from railway accidents of all kinds was only 1 in 518,051.

Tihet. An important addition to geographic knowledge is expected to
result from the journey across Tibet recently undertaken by Captain
II. II. P. Deasy, an otiicer of the British .Army. Captain Deasy will
throw into the different streams he may encounter water-tight cans con-
taining the request, in English and French, that an accurate statement
as to where they are found may be forwarded without delay to the Royal
Geographical Society, London. It is hoped that some of them may be
found in tbe Mrahmaputra, Salween, and Mekong, and thus help to solve
the problem of the origin and connections of these rivers.

Chin a. Of the two ports to be opened to foreign commerce under the
treaty with Japan, that of Hangchow is the more important. A city of
800,000 inhabitants, and the richest and perhaps the finest in the empire,
it is the capital of Chekiang, a province containing the most extensive
silk and tea district in the world. It is believed that the opening of this
port will revolutionize the tea trade of middle China, and divert consider-
able commerce from Shanghai to Ningpo, the natural seaport of Hang-
chow. Chekiang, a state of 35,000,000 inhabitants, produces two-thirds of
all the silk exported from China, and is also the largest cotton-producing
province. Other exports of special importance are straw goods, wine,
alum, hemp, indigo, fans, and vegetable tallow from the tallow tree.

The thanks of all interested in geography are due to Messrs J. Scott
Keltic and Hugh Robert Mill for the painstaking care with which they
have edited the Report of the Sixth International Geographical Congress,
field in London, 1895. This handsome volume of 1,116 pages is a worthy
supifiemental outcome of those personal labors, marked by tact, courtesy,
and ability, by which its editors, in their capacity as secretaries, contrib-
uted so greatly to the success of the Congress. Among the more important
papers of professional interest may be mentioned those of Buchanan on
Oceanography, Chapman on the Mapping of Africa, Levasseur on the
Teaching of Geograph}' in Schools and Universities, Neumayer on South
Polar Explorations, and Walker on the Geodetic Survey of India. Raven-
stein’s appended Catalogue of the Exhibition is of permanent value.

A. W. G.

AN IMPROVED METHOD OF KEEPING THE SCORE IN

DUPLICATE WHIST, COMPASS WHIST, STRAIGHT WHIST AND EUCHRE,

Since Duplicate and Com-
pass Whist have come into
fashion there has been an
rmprecedented revival of in-
terest in the game, due to
the fact that mere luck is to
a large extent eliminated by

The one thing needed to
perfect the new method has
been a convenient device
by means of which the score
made on the first round can
be concealed until after the
replay of the hands, as a
knowledge of the first score
often enables a good player
to make a decisive gain, and
matches are lost and won on
just such little chances.

A Washington player has at
length invented and put upon
the market at a very low price a
little device which admirably
answers the purpose, and at the
same time serves as a pretty
and useful table ornament,
marker, and pencil rest. It is
called the “Cosmos Countkr,”
and consists of a little polished
wood tablet with a metal key-
board that can be clamped down
on the score in such a way as to
bring 24 little metal plates over
the 24 spaces in the “ score ”
column of the card, for use in
concealing each first score as
.soon as recorded and until the
hand is replayed (in duplicate
whist) or the entire series fin-
ished (in compass whist).

Whist players will at once see
the advantage of this new
method of keeping the score, as
it effectually prevents their op-
ponents at the same or another
table from taking advantage,
either by accident or design, of
a knowledge of what the hand
is capable. The trouble with
duplicate whist, especially, is
that the replay is liable to be in-
fluenced by memory of the cards
and .score, and anything that
helps to confuse such recollec-
tion is a great gain to fair play.

The “Cosmos .Score Card,”
prepared for use with the
counter, shows .several new fea-
tures, such as a heading for both
Duplicate and Compass Whist
and (on the reverse) for Straight
Whist, Kuchre, &c., thus ena-
bling the same counter and score
to be used for any game of cards.

Cosmos Counters, with tablet
of quartered oak, maple, or
birch, and metal in either gold
or silver finish, 50 cts. apiece ; 6
for $2.75; 12 for |5 ; by mail, 4
cts. apiece extra. Cosmos Score
Cards, 25 cts. per package of 50 ;
12 packages for $2.50; by mail
free of postage.

Ask to see samples at any
stationer’s, or order direct Irom
theiGcueral Agents.

a comparison of the scores
made in the play of the same
hands by different players.

Co0mo0

HAND

C O l/t 3E> ^ S S ■W HIST

HAND

SCORE 1 TOTALS J TRUMP | OPPONENTS

I3-U-I=IjIC.A.TE "W hist

SCORE

GAIN

TRUMP

GAIN

SCORE

•«?

•e

1 1

Totals,

Totals

, 189 -

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PAGE

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Honorary As«<ociate Edi

CONTENTS

T^E GEOGl^APHY Olf* THE SOUTHERN PENTljr€fUIiA QF THE-t^TED
W4til Vlustrations. REV. j;,OHN >rrMACQ9NIGLE

THE\SA^1ME^AINS of OREGON. FREDERICK V. GOVILLE

THE^ S department OF AGRICULTURE AND ITS BIOLOGICAI,
SURVEY.

^STATISTICS OF RAILWAYS IN THE UNITED STATES.
GEOGRAPHIC Work IN PERU, ,

Geographic Literatuie, p. 408; Proceedings the National Geographic
Scci^y, p. 410; Geogiaphic Notes, p. 411; Miscellanea, p. 412.

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THE

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ORGANIZED, JANUARY, 1888

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NAT. GEOG. MAG.

VOL. VII, 1896, PL. XXXIX

PHOSPHATE MINING ON THE WEST COAST OF FLORIDA

THE

National Geographic Magazine

VoL. VII DECEMBER, 1896 No. 12

THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE SOUTHERN PENINSULA
OF THE UNITED STATES

The Rev. John N. MacGonigle

The study of the geography of the southern peninsula of the
United States began about 400 years ago. Although the Great
Admiral had not found the mainland of the ^Vestern Hemis-
phere, he had planted the standard of Spain on its adjacent
islands, and his reports had kindled the spirit of adventure and
awakened the hope of greater discoveries. In 1498 an expedi-
tion led b}'’ Pinzon and Solis entered the gulf of Mexico and
made the harbor of Tampico, sailing thence around the whole
of the Gulf coast, circumnavigating the southern jieninsula,
and journeying northward as far perhaps as the capes of Chesa-
peake bay. Of this successful vo\'age Ledesma and Americus
Vespucius were the pilots, and it was doubtless from their charts
that the first map of the peninsula was made. This map was
made in Portugal, by some one unknown, for Allierto Cantino,
who carried it to Italy to the Duke of Ferrara in the autumn of
1502. The original may now be seen in Modena, where it has
been since 1880. One recognizes at a glance its singular correct-
ness, at least as to its general outlines. It shows the dee]) in-
dentations of the west coast and hints at the characteristic
lagoon on the east. Without much dillicult}'’ and with reason-
able certainty we can make some identifications. The River of
the Palms is the Apalachicola, the Cape of the End of A])ril is
the southern [mint of the j)cninsula, the River of the Canoes is
the Matanzas, and the River of the Alligators the *St. Johns.
Both this and the Tnhula Terre Xovc of 1508 were supposed to
exhil)it the new world, and therefore to include in Florida the

382 GEOGRAPHY OF THE SOUTHERN PENINSULA

wliole of North Aniericu. How widely they were published we
do not know, but they doul)tless aided great!}' in the conduct
of sul)se(pient ex]>editions.

Added to the other impulses toward discovery vhich marked
the twiliglit of the fifteenth century, the love of life contributed
its strong motives. In a book which might have been dedicated
to Ananias, John ISIandeville told of a fountain in eastern Asia
of Avhich he and his fellow-travelers had drunk freely, and ever
since had known new life, instinct with the strength and joy of
youth. J'o find this fountain of youth became a new quest of
the voyager. From Porto Pico, in the island of His[)aniola, Juan
Ponce de Leon set sail in March, 1512. From the folklore of
the natives of IIisi)aniola he had learned that the fabled fountain
would be found in Bimini, a little island of the Bahama group.
I le had authority from the king to compier Bimini. His course,
however, led him too far to the westward, and on March 27 the
white sands of the southern peninsula came in sight. It was
Pascua Florida, or Easter Sunday, and the new land was named
Florida. Terra Florida it has been ever since, not only be-
cause Ponce de Leon reached it on Pascua Florida, but because
it is a land of flowers. On Ai>ril 2 Ponce de Leon landed at
about 30° N.,but sailed away again immediately, making his Avay
around the i)eninsula to latitude 27° 30', whence he sailed home.
In 1521 he returned to colonize his territory. The Indians met
him with savage resistance, and instead of the fountain of per;
])etual youth he found defeat, receiving an arrow wound which
resulted in a lingering illness and his death in Cuba.

'I'he })ortion of the state of Florida to be considered in this
article lies between longitude 3° and G° 30' we.st of Washington
and between 24° 30' and 30° N. latitude. It has the Atlantic
ocean on the east, the gulf of iMexico on the west, and the strait
of Florida on the south. Close to its eastern shore is the Gulf
stream, in many ])laces not more than two miles distant.

The geology of Florida presents no grave or complicated })rob-
lems. Lying immediately beneath the surface is a limestone
which persists througli the entire length of the state. This
doubtless belongs to the Eocene .system. The limestone, which
forms the crest of a fold known as “ the ridge,” is very i)ermeable
by water. It is characterized by enormous sink-holes and sub-
terranean streams. It forms the beds of the middle rivers and
of the countless lakes. Lying to the west of this limestone ridge
arc those marvelous deposits of phosjjhates which are found

OF THE UNITED STATES

383

along the west coast of the iDeninsula. East of the ridge, and
more especially where it approaches the Atlantic, we find the
coquina beds of sand and shells, which, with varying structure,
form the barrier between the sea and the great coastal lagoon.

The peninsula naturally separates into three divisions ; the
middle portion, which comprises the beautiful lake region ; the
west coast, which slopes away from the high ridge to the gulf of
INIexico, and the east coast, whose sand}^ levels are protected
from the Atlantic by the great coquina atoll, extending from the
mouth of the St. Johns river to the shores of lake Worth. Each
of these divisions differs wholly from the others, presenting con-
ditions and characteristics peculiar to itself.

Middle Florida is a broad ridge which reaches at places an
elevation of nearly 250 feet. The soil is for the most part sandy,
but like that of the state in general, it contains a sufficient quan-
tity of phosphate to render it fertile. Forests of pine are every-
where. Here and there a cypress swamp varies the scene, and
now and then a palmetto liammock suggests the approach of the
tropics. It is in this division the lake region is found. Dotting
the landscape like jewels of crystal in a field of green are num-
berless lakes, varying in size from a gem-like lakelet to the broad
expanse of Okeechobee. Within a radius of 5 miles from Winter
Haven 100 have been counted, and within 7 miles of Orlando
there are known to be 150. Mhth Gainesville as its northern
limit and including lake Okeechobee on the south, this region
contains at a conservative estimate at least 30,000 of these lakes
and lakelets. They are not, as many imagine, the result of sur-
face drainage or the reservoirs of sluggish streams. INlany of
them find their chief su})ply in the hidden sources of the great
limestone which forms their beds, and some of them are con-
nected by subterranean channels. It has frequently been ob-
served that the fall of one means the rise of another. In some
cases the water has disappeared entirely for a long i)eriod, only
to return again, sometimes (piite unexpectedly. 'I'heir waters
are pure and they abound in fish. Clustered around them are
the homes of thousands of people who have I)een driven south
by diseases of the throat and lungs, d’he pine forests, the dry
soil, the elevation alx^ve the not distant coast, the soft air and
the healing sunshine insure almost entire immunity from pul-
monary affections.

It is in this region that many of the great si)rings of Florida
are found. The famous Silver si)ring lies just on the edge of

384

GEOGRAPHY OF THE SOUTH ERS RES INSULA

the middle belt. De Leon .spring, fabled as youth’s fountain,
and the strange Blue spring, with its ultramarine waters, are the
most notable of tlie.se whims of nature.

The west coast region slopes gently awa}”^ from the middle
ridge until it touches the Gulf It is traversed by rivers whose
beauty it is imjiossible to describe. Rising in swamps and
morasses, they make their way by countless windings to the
Gulf. Overhead the trees twine their branches into one unbroken
canopy, shutting out the sunlight. On the banks are lands of
great fertility, devoted in some cases to grazing and in others to-
gardens, whose early products reach the north while that region
is still enveloped in ice and snow. The far-famed Suwanee
river rises in the edge of the Okefenokee swamp in Georgia, and
after a course of 240 miles empties into the Gulf The Withla-
coochee takes its rise just west of Kissimmee, and after almost
losing itself in the spread of its waters, eventually reaches the
Gulf in Withlacoochee bay. The Caloosahatchee has its head-
waters in the secret rece.sses of the Okaloocoochee slough, and
as it approaches the coast it widens into a majestic stream.
Through the drainage canal of the Di.sston Company it is con-
nected with lake Flirt, lake Hicpochee, and lake Okeechobee.
A voyage, uni<pie in every circumstance, may be made by steamer
from Punta Kassa, following the river, the lakes, or the canal as
far inland as Ki.ssimmee, where one sees the spreading cane
fields redeemed by drainage at St. Cloud.

Along the brinks and in the beds of these streams are found
one of Florida’s chief sources of wealth, the great phosphate de-
j)Osits. These dejiosits furnish the purest form of phosphate of
lime found in nature, a fact especially significant of the manner
in which the minerals of the west coast have in general been de-
posited. Hundreds of thousands of tons are taken annually te
Tampa, Punta Gorda, and Fernandina to be forwarded to foreign
j)orts or American manufactories for conversion into commercial
fertilizers. There are also here enormous bodies of sedimentary
limestone, fuller’.s-earth, and kaolin, all of unusual j)urity, due te
the peculiar conditions of their deposition.

The Gulf coast is indented by many bays. These ba}"s, from
Suwanee to Sanibel, are dotted with tropical islands, and are
bounded on the one side by coasts of unfailing verdure and on
the other by the blue waters of the Gulf. Chief of these are
Tampa bay and Charlotte harbor, the terminals of two great
railway systems. Here one may take steamer for the West

NAT. GEOG. MAG.

VOL. VII, 1896, PL. XL

ON THE ST. JOHNS RIVER

FALLS OF THE MIAMI RIVER

OF THE UNITED STATES

385

Indies or South America, or, choosing smaller craft, find end-
less summer. He ma}^ go with the sponger, who plies his trade
on the great S})onge reef in the Gulf ; may ply the open waters
for tlie silver king of the sea, the tarpon, or may find in the
interior whatever his heart desires in the chase for deer and
bear, or in that ‘supreme idleness to which the climate induces.

Dividing the middle region of the lakes from the east coast is
the St. Johns river. This river enters the Atlantic at Mayport,
in a broad, open sweep of water. Running parallel with the
Atlantic coast, it is navigable southward as far as Sanford. At
some points narrow and crooked, it elsewhere widens into sheets
like lake George, 5 miles wide and 15 miles long. Never more
than 30 miles from the ocean, its headwaters are not 10 miles
from the great lagoon in Halpatiokee swamp, a saw-grass region
not unlike the Everglades. The sceneiy of this great river
changes continually. Banks that are green with cypress and
fragrant with magnolia and hone3^suckle give place to orange
groves and gardens, or widen out into a prairie fringed with low
palmettos, over whose tops high jiiues appear. The chief tribu-
taiy of the St. Johns is the Oklawaha, whose windings through
intricate masses of vegetation, by floating islands and bayous
haunted by alligators, afford a vo^^^age of rare beauty.

The east coast proper is formed Ijy the coquina ledge, which
is found all the way from Anastasia island to the southern limit
of Palm beach. This ledge for vaiying distance along its western
border incloses the great lagoon. This lagoon is known h}" vari-
ous names ; in its extreme northern development it is the North
river, then the INIatanzas. Plere the ledge shuts off the sea until
it reaches Smiths and Mala Compra creeks. Beyond this the
estuary has its own way, forming the Hillsboro, Halilax, Banana,
Indian, and Jupiter rivers and lake Worth. The southern end
of the lagoon is in lake Worth, unless it should liereafter he dis-
covered that the coquina ledge continues to ca[>e Florida, in
which case Boca Raton, New River inlet, and r)uml)foundling
hay will he included. The lagoon is sometimes a broad, deoj)
stream, sometimes a shallow bayou or lake of brackish water.
It is flaidced on either side by the characteristic l)clts of tlic*
coast. First comes the white sand beach, which is succeeded hv
sand-dunes covered with beach grass, sea oats, wild niorning-
gloiy, and saw-i)ahnetto, changing to red ha_ys and cedars. This
is often succeeded h\'’ a half-hammock of tall trc(;s and vines.
Inside the lagoon is the very fertile l)clt of the high liaminock,

386

GEOGRAPHY OF THE SOUTHERN PENINSULA

composed mostly of oyster shells and fringed on its western end
with pine. Following this is the low hammock of deep, black,
exhaustless soil, the growths of which are picturesque and trop-
ical, and last the yellow pine or flat woods where the negro and
the cracker find their liomes. Between the arms of the lagoon a
channel 60 feet wide and 6 feet deep has recentl}' been dredged,
with the result that one will be able this winter to enter the
lagoon at St. Augustine in a naphtha launch or house-boat and
sail all the way to bay Biscayne. Leaving St. Augustine, with its-
old Spanish streets and frowning fortress of San IMarco, the voy-
age lies

“Thro’ leafey alleys of verdurous valleys”

to Ormond on the Halifax. Further south lie Daytona and
New Smyrna, the site of old indigo and cane fields, English
failure and Minorcan misfortune ; next come Canaveral light and
at length the broad pineai)})le fields of the Indian river; then
the narrows of the Indian and Jupiter rivers to Jui)iter light.
A canal }>a.sses into lake Worth, where nature and art have
combined to ]>roduce tropical conditions. Thence it extends to
New river and by succeeding reach of river and creek and canal
into bay Biscayne ; thence south through bay Biscayne inside the
keys, or outside the keys through Hawk channel to Key M'est.

J'he products of the peninsula are so well known that I give
them but a passing notice. The orange was for many years the
chief object of labor and culture. In 1893-’94 the cro]i reached
the enormous outi>ut of 5,500,000 boxes. Then frost killed to
the roots 90 per cent of the trees. Sixty per cent of these grew
again from the roots and some will bear this year. Three years
hence the crop will probably aggregate 5,000,000 boxes. A
country of one crop, however, is, like a man with a i>et virtue, of
doul)tful character, and Florida has learned the lesson of the
freeze to good effect. Next to the orange is the inneapple, of
which this year })robably 80,000 crates have been shipped.
Added to these, everything in the nature of fruit or vegetable
that the temperate zone produces may be found ripening in our
gardens for shipment to the north while the farms and gardens
and orchards of that region are }'^et deep in the sleep of winter.

The climate of the peninsula presents so many phases that
only an exhaustive study can do it justice. The chief interest,
however, centers in its winter conditions. The disposition to
escape from the rigors of the northern winter is gradually in-
creasing, and the number of people able to do so is likewise on

OF THE UNITED STATES

387

the increase. Such meager details as it is practicable to intro-
duce into this article but poorly express tbe actual experience.
At Tampa during December, 1895, and January and February,
1896, the following observations were made : Maximum, for the
period observed, 80° ; minimum, 32°; mean, 59° ; greatest daily
range, 32° ; average number of clear days per month, 12 ; of
partly cloudy, 12; of cloudy, 6. At Jacksonville for the same
period: Maximum, 80°; minimum, 24°; mean, 55°; greatest
daily range, 41° ; clear days, 15 ; partly cloudy, 9 ; cloudy, 6.
At Jupiter for the same period : Maximum, 83° ; minimum, 37° ;
mean, 63° ; greatest daily range, 24° ; clear days, 8 ; partly cloudy,
13, and cloud}'-, 9. These figures show that the climate becomes
more ecpiable as you go southward. This is equally true of the
coasts and of the interior, the winter climate of the lake region
being of great equability.

For all varieties of pulmonary disease the middle region is a
genial sanitarium. The east coast particularly affords relief for
all forms of what is called “ americanitis ” or nerve exhaustion.
That the climate is eminently suited either for rest or for in-
creased mental activity and labor I can bear personal testimony.
It is the climate par excellence for the student.

In INIarcb, 1892, Mr James E. Ingraham conceived the idea of,
and at once proceeded to organize, an expedition for the ex])lo-
ration of tbe Everglades. The expedition experienced the
greatest hardships, but its object was accomplished, and it is
chief!}' to its records that I am indebted for the following de-
scription.

The Everglades consist of two great basins lying between lake
Okeecliobee and the extreme southern point of tbe peninsula.
The floor and rim of these basins are formed of a limestone
which is doubtle.ss a continuation of the rock composing tbe
central ridge or backbone of tbe state. On tbe edges or rim
where tbe rock is ex[)osed it i)resents a very singular appeai'ancc.
Here it is weathered and water-worn into the })cculiar shapes
which gave rise to the early opinion that Florida was of coralino
formation. The pre.ssure of the Hoods of water pouring over the
sides or through the edges of this rim has worn away the softer
portions of tbe rock, leaving tbe barder sul)sta.nce to present a
soniewbat coral-like structure. 4'be color varies from cream to
dark l»r<;wn, owing to tbe black water, so called, wbieb issues
from tbe gbules. This rock not only i)crsists tbrougbout tbe

388

GEOGRAPHY OF THE SOUTHERN PENINSULA

glades, so far as explored, but seems also to be present in the
river beds to the south, tlirough which the water of the glades
finds an outlet.

To the north the water empties into lake Okeechobee; to the
west, south, and east it flows through various rivers into the
Atlantic and the Gulf. The evident elevation of the area above
the east, west, and south coasts precludes the idea of drainage
from surrounding areas, and we must look elsewhere for the
sources of the water. These, I think, are found in part in precipi-
tation, and, in part, in subterranean streams or springs. The
rainfall over this vast area of three million acres must be very
great. But when we remember that all the creeks and rivers
lead out of and not into the glades, the rainfall, which possibly
approximate.'^ an average of ten inches jier month during the
months of June, July, and August, is not sufficient. From what
we know as to the subterranean relations between the lakes in
the lake region, from the well-known conditions of Silver, Blue,
and De Leon springs, as well as from data acquired by drilling
for artesian water, it is reasonable to infer that the volume of
water due to ))recipitation is materially increased b}’ an under-
ground supi)ly. As some justification of this assumption, I may
mention a spring which has its issue from the rocky rim just
l)elow the falls of the Miami river. Over the rocky ledge the
dark brown water of the glade pours itself in a turbulent flood
into the rapids of the Miami. But onl3'^ a little distance below
the falls, and e.\i)Osed to view during the period of low water in
the glade, the clear and uncolored volume of a huge spring gives
itself up to the sunshine. The quality of the water is entirely
different from that of the glades, and, as far as I have been able
to observe, is unsurpassed in purity.

Approaching the glades from either east or west, the water
gradually dee])ens, the rock forming the floor of the basin re-
ceding toward the middle at the rate of about 8.6 inches to the
mile. In the valley thus formed, running north and south, the
rock is about 15 feet below the surface. It is traceable directly
across the glade, leaving no manner of doubt as to its persistence.
Immediately over the rock is deposited the result of ages of de-
cayed vegetation, forming a soft peat or muck, the depth of
Avhich varies from a few inches to five feet. It is everywhere
present over the floor of the great basins, and if ever drained
will afford a soil of incalculable richne.ss and fertility.

For miles east and west from the valle}" of the basin and north

VOL. VII, 1896, PL. XLI

ON THE CALOOSAHATCHEE RIVER

OF THE UNITED STATES

389

and south through its length there stretches an almost impass-
able prairie of saw-grass. This saw-grass, rooted in the muck,
grows to enormous size, and in many instances resembles a bam-
boo pole, of the size of an ordinary fishing-rod, with a continu-
ous barbed-wire covering. Oil' tiiree sides of the grass grow
teeth of singular sharpness, sometimes an inch in length.
Through this prairie of saw-grass clear waterways are found
here and there. Their direction is generally southward, and
any attempt to cross the glades from west to east, as was the
case with Mr Ingraham’s expedition, is attended with great
hardship and difficulty. Owing to the southerly trend of the
glades proper, it sometimes became necessary for the members
of tbe expedition, while canying on their shoulders the camp
outfit, to cling to the boats to prevent permanent bogging and
an awful death in the sticky peat and ooze of the bottom. For
the white man the passage of the glades means wading, poling,
and portage, not infrequently through the densest of the grass,
through which he sometimes has to blaze his way. The Indian,
who has time on his hands, accommodates himself to the pro-
visions of nature; he follows the path of the open ivaters and,
through years of experience, has learned the ajqiarenth’- track-
less way to his homestead or to the outside world. Frequently
during Mr Ingraham’s expedition the entire distance covered by
a day of most arduous toil would not exceed 21 or 3 miles.
"When night came on, nothing but saw-grass was in sight, and
camp was made on tbe spot, the making of canij) consisting
merely in cutting away the saw-grass tops to a level, S{)reading
out upon them the rubber blankets, and over these the clothing
for protection and the cheese-cloth netting as a safeguard from
sandflies and mos(|uitos. This somewhat uncomfortable mode
of camping gave tbe party oj)))ortunities for observing and re-
])eatedly verifying tbe marvelous growth of the everglade bam-
boo. It was frequently noted that the inner ]>art of the cut
grasses grew fully three-fourths of an inch during a single night.

Mosquitos are plentiful enough and sandflies exist in large
numbers, but the greatest pest is tlie alligator-flea. This creature
lives in the glade water, and has all the (iharacteristics of his two
namesakes. He is as strong as the alligator, as active as tlu^
Palex irritaM lIwA his sudden sting has all the directness and
keenness of that of the hornet. He is an oblong insect, brown
in color, spongy in sul)stance, and about three sixteentlis of an
inch in length.

390

GEOGRAPHY OF THE SOUTHERN PENINSULA

For 8 or 10 miles on either edge of the glades the conditions
change materially. Thousands of islands, varying in size from
one-eighth of an acre to several acres, greet the eye. On these
islands the soil is phenomenally rich, and giant ferns, the fronds
of which measure 12 feet in length, grow upon their edges. 'I'he
virgin forest is composed of the wild lemon, wild cucumber,
and wild orange, the dogwood, the custard-a)iple, the prickly
ash, and hundreds of other varieties. Overhead the myrtle and
the morning-glory mingle in tangled masses with countless varie-
ties of tropical vines.

In the early summer, after the annual overflow, the entry of
the eastern region hy the Miami river is singularly beautiful.
Where a few weeks before the flood covered everything, is now
a green }>rairie, and tlirough the green gleam the delicate yellow
and pink of numberless orchids. The emerald-hued islands are
vocal with the songs of birds, and one can walk the now dry
pathway of the waters, keei)ing time i)erchance to the diapason
of some aged alligator l)ellowing away in a creek near by, un-
appreciated and undisturbed.

The great volume of water in the glades finds many courses to
the sea. The northern l)asin emi)ties its surplus into lake Okee-
chobee, from which it passes by the Disston drainage canal
through lake IIicj)ochee and lake Flirt into the Caloosahatchee
river and tlience into the Gulf. In exceptionalh’^ wet seasons
tlie northern basin overflows its southern rim, and contributes
to the volume of the greater southern glade. These southern
waters pour out through east, south, and southwest channels.
Some portion of the volume doul)tless furnishes the supply for
tlie Big Cypress swam}). The remainder finds outlet through
Gullivans, the Chokaluskee, the Fahkahnatchee, the Chatham,
the Rogers, the Shark, the Harney, the Ingraham, and numerous
smaller rivers and creeks. To the south there has not been suffi-
cient ex})loration to furnish reliable data, but the Seminole tells
of a southern outlet which is doubtless “Chi’s Cut,” and which
furnishes the })eculiar color of Black Water bay. On the east
the outlets are numerous. Beginning with the Hillsboro river
on the north, the great flood finds its way into the Atlantic
through the Middle river, Cyj)ress creek, New river. Snake river.
Arch creek, Little river, and the ^liami.

The islands in the Everglades have long been inhabited by
the Seminole. His cy})ress dug-out follows the ])ath of the waters
from the outside world to his homestead. He lives in com})ara-

OF THE UNITED STATES

3f)l

tive civilization. Choosing some specially high and fertile island,
he clears away enough of the dense growth to make a garden.
Here he grows bananas, sweet potatoes, and other vegetables.
He is reasonably industrious and does his own w'ork, leaving it
only to hunt or to attend the symbolic dances of the tribe. For
many years his chief support was derived from the sale of bird
l^elts and the growing of coontie, the arrowroot of Florida. But
the one has been rendered illegal and the other unprofitable.
His home is usually a somewhat crude hut, made of rough
boards riven from the log, and covered with a thatch of pal-
metto. The women of the Seminole are treated as women, the
rearing of the children and the cares of the household being
their only labor. As the tribe is gradually diminishing in num-
bers, an abundant game supply is found in the water-bound
reservation and in the Big Cypress swamp. Deer, bear, and the
wild turke}^ are found in fair quantity, and countless herons and
ducks have their perpetual home on the islands. The wild-cat
and the panther also are found in moderate numbers, while the
alligator is always in evidence, with now and then a crocodile.
The fine array of venomous snakes of the early geograjfiiies is
not to be found in the eastern glades, an occasional moccasin
only appearing.

The average distance from the rim of the glades to the coast
is : on the south and southwest about 15 miles, on the east about
6 miles, and on the west about 50 miles. West of the glades
lie the Okaloocoochee slough and the Big Cypress swamp.

Southwest of the Big Cypress and south of the Everglades
exploration is fraught with so many difficulties that the country
remains to a large extent unknown. Along the greater rivers,
such as the Fahkahnatchee, Harqey, Rogers, and Ingraham, the
land lies very low, a little higher usually on the south hank
than the north. These banks are subject to overfiow, continuing
through a considerable period, during the spring. This makes
the region practically unavailable for settlement. The hanks of
many of these rivers are covered with a growth of black and red
mangrove, which grow here to the giant sizes, comparatively
speaking, of 50 to 75 feet in height and 24 to ffO inches in diame-
ter. W hen the mangrove is not present there is a dense hammock
growth springing IVom a soil of wonderful richness, composed
of muck with an underlying green marl, below which the cver-
])resent limestone is found. Inside thi! hammock and nc.xt the
rim of the ghulcs is tin; usual prairie fringe;. On the south coast
of the peninsula there is almost no shore-line. The dense Ibrests

392

GEOGRAPHY OF THE SOUTHERN PENINSULA

of mangrove have reached out so far into the hays that tlie shore-
line is merely an impenetrable tangle of roots. The weight of a
man’s Vjody is enough to impart a swaying motion to three or
four acres of this floating forest. Off the coast and extending to
the northwest for many miles are countless islands or ke\'S.
These keys are covered with a dense growth of mangrove on the
edges, while further in the sea-gra[»e, wild fig, })awpaw, and but-
tonwood abound. On many of them there have been observed
for years what appeared to be shell mounds, not differing in gen-
eral appearance from other shell mounds. Through the narrow
sun-kissed channels of these ten thousand islands the sponger,
“ the Conch,” and the smuggler sailed for }’ears; the settler in
search of lands and the sportsman looking for a camp passed
them by in contempt; but under the mangrove roots and the
tangle of vines there slept the civilization of past centuries.
These ke\’s with their strange shell heaps are cities of the dead,
and the magic touch of Mr Frank Hamilton Cushing has brought
them into life. At Key Marco he has brought to light evidences
of a culture belonging to the Stone age, yet surpassing it amaz-
ingly in beauty. Here dwelt a strange people who built sea-
walls of shells ajid made themselves water-courts and temples
on the gulf shore, working amazing results, in potteiy and cop-
])cr, with shark’s teeth and fish-bones. How much more of this
earlv civilization awaits research it is impossible to tell; but Mr
Cushing’s work has made the southwestern coast of the penin-
sula a shrine for the student and a mine of wealth for the worker
in archeology.

It would hardly be possible to imagine in coast conditions a
greater contrast than exists between these southern and south-
western coasts of Florida and the coast l}dng to the east of the
Everglades. As one cro.sses the rim of the glades basin, the in-
evitable prairie is first met with. This is of varying width, but
of remarkable fertility. Pa.ssing eastward it is succeeded by the
})ine-land belt, which in turn gives place to a hammock growth
that is of its own kind. This new hammock fringes the inner
shore of bay Bisca\me, which, including Cards sound, has a
shore-line of nearly 60 miles. To the utter surprise of the student
of Floridian scenery and geology this shore-line is a rock}" bluff.
It is composed of a lime.stone yet unidentified, which, when first
exposed, is soft and friable. It gives evidence of a slow, still-
water bedding. Here and there it contains quantities of small
shells ; exposed, it weathers to a rich gray and hardens suffi-
ciently to make excellent building-stone. In many localities

OF THE UNITED STATES

393

inland for a mile the rock is on the surface, but for the most
part it is covered with rich vegetable mold. The hammock sur-
passes all others of Florida in the variety of its woods. The
familiar wild mulberry, red bay, and liveoak are here. With
them grow the wild fig or rubber tree, the gumbo-limbo, iron-
wood, mastic, naked wood, crabwood, and many others. Scat-
tered along the rock}’' bluff, washed by the crystal blue water of
Biscayne, are great numbers of wild lemons, limes, and oranges,
and over them all from tree to tree climbs the vivid green of a
giant vining cactus. It is here, too, that the cocoanut palm
sends up its giant plume-like fronds. The bamboo transplanted
makes itself at home. The century-plant, reckless of weather,
bears its giant bloom, and the queen of all the trees, the royal
palm, graceful beyond description, adds her luxuriance to the
tropical beauty of the scene.

The rocky front of the inshore of bay Biscayne is bi’oken by
the Miami and other rivers flowing out of the Everglades. A
little north of the bay, into New River inlet, empties New river.
Both of these glade rivers are singularly beautiful. Their waters,
clear and limpid, are fringed on either shore by all the wild
growths of the hammock, until they make their way through
pine and prairie, reflecting every change of scene like mirrors.
Through these rivers the Indians come to the frontier to sell
their skins and venison. The distance from the coast to the
glades is from 6 to 8 miles, under the overlooking branches of
trees that are always green. The fall of the Miami river as it
leaves the glade is about 10 feet in 900. Its mouth fringed with
lordly cocoanuts, the Miami empties into the bay almost due
west of cape Florida. The southern extremity of key Biscayne
forms cape Florida, not far from which is the northern end of
the Great Florida reef.

South of cape Florida, here clustered and there widely se[)a-
ratcd by the opal waters of the Southern ocean, lies the great
system of the Florida keys, beginning with Sands key, passing
Cards sound, Barnes sound, and the bay of Florida, until in
the extreme south Key West sits in her isolation, a city t>f over
20,000 inhabitants, cut off fn)in her sister cities and eompelled
to be content with a mail twice a week. 'I'hese keys are a study
in themselves. 'I'hey vary in size from a point of land to key
Largo, wiiich is 2o miles long and from one-eighth of a mile to
2 miles in width.

This fringe of tlie continent forms a safe barrier against the
sea, and in land-locked waters the voyage from Miami to Key

394

GEOGRAPHY OF THE SOUTHERN PENINSULA

, West, whether in midwinter or midsummer, is full of comfort,
charm, and beauty. The ke}’s are not barren sand-wastes, as
was at first supposed, but seem to be formed of the same rock
as the bluff of Biscayne bay. They are tropical in plant life,
genial in climate, and fertile almost beyond belief. The waters
of this summer country are beautiful beyond everything that
language or color can express. They are for the most part
shallow, but in their greatest depths one sees through their
cr}\stal blue the underlying floor of bay or sound or strait. This
floor is covered by sea-weeds in picturesque tangles and sponges
of grotesque form, through and above which myriads of fish flit
like flashes of electric light. Close by the shores the lazy shark
glides along indifferent to j'our presence. The modest manatee,
the strange sea-cow, hurries away to dee})er water. From the
opalescent surface the tarpon springs for his prey, the pompano
for his pleasure. Overhead the sun shines brilliantly, but even
at midsummer the trade winds blowso surely but so soothingly
that there is no sense of heat and certainly none of oppression
at any season of the year.

The fertility of the southeastern coast region is really beyond
descrii>tion. It presents a variety of soils and lands unequaled.
Anything known to the north temperate zone, except wheat, will
grow. The vegetables of the ordinary garden mature and ripen
at any period of the year. Planting and gathering run side by
side winter and summer. It is the natural home for all the
citrus family, such as lemons, limes, oranges, citrons, grape fruit,
and shaddock. The pineapple grows and yields almost without
attention. Mangos, guava, the alligator pear, the sapodilla,
the sugar apple, the Japan plum and persimmon, with numer-
ous otlier tropical fruits, thrive and yield amazingly. The culture
of vanilla, camphor, kola, cinchona, cinnamon, and coffee has
begun with great promise of success. The eastern edge of the
southern Everglade furnishes every condition of soil and climate
neces.sary to the culture of the india-rubber tree, and, whether
the glades are ever drained or not, the islands of their eastern
edge will furnish the rubber of future commerce.

In this favored region frost is entirely unknown. In addi-
tion to its southern latitude, it has two potent protectors. Close
to its eastern shore courses that nursing mother of the sea, the
great Gulf stream. M'estward the warm waters of the glades
hang a mist veil for 50 miles. In the eastern islands of the
glades the habit of growth shown by the trees proves that frost
has never fallen.

THE SAGE PLAINS OF OREGON

Frederick V. Coville,

Botanist of the U. S. Department of Agriculture

The states of Washington and Oregon are cut in half from
north to south by a great mountain range known as the Cas-
cades. B}’’ this climatic barrier the eastern portions of these
two states are transformed into a great arid plain centering about
the valley of the Columbia river. The eastern limit of the plain
is the western base of the Bitterroot mountains toward the north
and of other ranges belonging to the Rocky mountain s}^stem
further south. Thus is formed a great wedge-shaped area, its
base toward the south, where the plains are continuous with
those of Nevada, and its apex toward the north, where the plain
is finall}’- shut in by the boreal forest-belt which connects the
northern end of the Bitterroots with the northern end of the
Cascades. Near the center of this triangle, in northeastern Ore-
gon, rises a great, irregular mass of rock known as the Blue
mountains, Avhich projecting into the ])lain from the eastward
almost divides it into two portions, the resultant plains area
being roughly of the shape of a dumb-bell, the u^iper half lying
in Washington, the lower half in Oregon, and the two connected
by a narrow neck in the mid-northern portion of the latter state.
The area is drained largely b}'^ the Columbia river, which has
cut its*way through the Cascades to the Pacific. In the southern
portion of Oregon the streams in many ])laces find no outlet to
oceanic waters, but flow into alkaline lakes and marshy sinks,
from which their water either percolates into the soil to find an
outlet elsewhere or is evaporated into the dry atmosphere. In
altitude the })lains range from less than 500 feet along the Co-
lumbia river valley to 4,000 and even 5,000 feet in the more dis-
tant |)ortions. From north to south in a direct line the extreme
length of the plains is al)Out 450 miles, from east to west in the
northern portion about 150 and in the southern j>ortion al)out
250 miles, the relatively narrow neck connecting the two being
constricted in its narrowest part to not more than 15 miles.

The first white men to penetrate this region were those he-
longing to the expedition of Lewis and Clarke, who crossed the

396

THE SAGE PLAINS OF OREGON

Bitterroot mountains from the east in the summer of 1805 and
traveled laboriously across the plains and then down the valley
of the Columbia to the ocean. The subsequent history of eastern
Oregon may he divided into the period of occupation by the
Hudson’s Bay Company and other fur-dealing organizations,
then the ])eriod of gold-mining excitement, and finally the j^eriod
of agricultural settlement, beginning with the Grand Ronde and
stretching out to other le.ss attractive localities.

Two decades ago the plains of eastern Oregon, soiith of the
Blue mountains, were practically an unsettled region. It was
then generally recognized that the country was capalde of pro-
ducing a good quality of beef in enormous amounts, and the
available land was rapidly taken up, chierty under homestead
entries, so that now there remains little land worth entering.
The country, however, is still very sparsely settled. Perhai)s the
most suggestive fact about the whole region is that no point in
the United States lies further from a railroad than the center of
this plain. Even the great desert from Death valley eastward
across southern Nevada and Utah is more deeply penetrated by
railroad lines than is this great wilderness of eastern Oregon.
Traveling southward from the Dalles to the southern part of the
state and then eastward into Idaho one can go more than a
thousand miles without cro.ssing a railroad track, although no
point is more tlian about 160 miles in a direct line from some
railroad connection.

In the }'ear 1893 the Division of Botau}^ in the Department of
Agriculture began to make a comprehensive examination of the
vegetation of these ifiains, beginning with the Columbia plains
proper, in the state of Washington. In 1894 this work ^tas con-
tinued southward across the Columbia through the neck of the
dumb-bell and down nearly to the southern boundary of the
state of Oregon. In 1895 the work was interrupted for more
urgent exi)lorations in the Coeur d’Alene mountains, but in 1896
it was again taken up and the remainder of the Oregon plains
was covered. The collections made in these three years, though
not confined entirely to the plains region, but including also
some of the adjacent forested mountain country, contained not
far from 1,800 species, and it is probable that the plains them-
selves, as distinguished from the forests upon the surrounding
mountains, contain not less than 1,000.

This year the route followed was from the town of Ontario, on
the Snake river, westward to Harney, from which place a side

THE SAGE PLAINS OF OREGON

397

trip was made northward in the Blue mountains. The expedi-
tion then traveled south from Harney to Steins mountain, then
westward across the plains, winding back and forth between the
north and south mountain ranges to Fort Klamath, and finally
over the Cascades to the railroad.

The whole country apj^ears to have been covered at some not
very remote geological period b}’’ a great sheet of lava, which has
since been cracked, uplifted, and depressed in various portions.
Almost every plateau ends in an escarpment of naked basalt,
kitown throughout the region as rim-rock, perhaps geologically
the most characteristic surface feature of the couTitry. Nearly
every valle}’’ is inclosed by such a formation.

The vegetation of the country consists primarily of sage brush,
the well-known Artemisia tridentata of botanists, a shrub three to
six feet high, closely related to the wormwood of Europe, and
having in common with that plant a light gray color and a
strongly aromatic odor. Awa}^ from stream beds and sinks and
the shores of lakes, sage brush covers the whole country like
a gray mantle and constitutes probably nine-tenths of the total
vegetation. It is a plant the herbage of which is eaten by but
few animals and by those only in starvation times, one that will
grow with little moisture and will stand the widest range of
temperature. Sage brush gives to the country its character. A
level stretch is known as a sage plain ; the grouse which live
there are known as sage hens; the fuel of the region is sage
brush ; the odor upon the atmosphere is that of sage brush.

After a season’s lack of rain the sage brush turns to a blackish
gray and everything has a dead, hurned-out look, suggestive of
thirst, of hot rocks, and parching winds. But after a soaking
spring rain the sage brush puts on a new coloration, a delicate
pale bluish green, soft and veiy ))leasing to the eye. Occasion-
ally in some far-off lava-covered basin of the plains, where there
has been no rain for months, a stream bed stretching down from
a mountain brings to the thirsty plain the water that has fallen
in a summer thunder-storm upon some high ))cak,and as a con-
sequence the dark gray blanket of sage brush is lighted up b}’ a
line of soft jjea green. If the stream bed is one that still con-
tinues to carry water, the sage hens gather along it from miles
back in the plains, and every morning and evening come down
to driidc. Sometimes the teal and other ducks, if the mountain
is high enough to ju’oduce a perennial stream, bring up their
broods of young in the tall grass along its margin. In oik; day’s
20

398

THE SAGE PLAINS OF OREGON

journe}' of about 20 miles along such a stream we passed, b}'-
actual count, 389 sage bens and brood after brood of ducks,
while at one point we started uj), at a distance of half a mile, a
herd of 20 antelojie, which lined-up like Indians and trotted
away from their drinking place over the rim of the plateau.
They were doubtless on their way back to their grazing grounds,
where even at the present stage of civilization no hunter ever
disturbs them.

Regret is sometimes exj>ressed that sagebrush, almndant as it
is, does not furnish a succulent, palatable herbage suited to the
ap})etites of eattle and horses. If it did, what an inexhaust-
il)le supply of forage these arid i)lains would sup])ort. But those
who suggest such a resourceful condition of afiairs have forgot-
ten that the cause of its al^undance and wide distribution is
undoubtedly the protection against the ravages of grazing ani-
mals afforded by its disagreeal)le taste, so that it can grow, pro-
duce its seed, ami spread almost unchecked. Had it been a
grazing plant, suited to the apj)etite of antelope and deer, and
later to that of sheep, horses, and cattle, it would long since
have been exhausted and the Oregon plains have become as bare
of sage brush as some of the Wyoming plains are bare of grass,

.V few other shrubs form an inconsiderable part of the woody
vegetation, but these and the sage brush make up by no means
all the plant life of the country. As the snow melts away in
the spring, the well moistened soil between the Artemisia bushes
l)ecomes covered with the seedlings of innumerable annuals.
For a few weeks the ground is carpeted with these plants, which
flower in the greatest profusion, but after about two months they
ripen their seeds, dry up, die, and disappear. Growing with these
annuals is another type of plants, tuberous-rooted perennials,
whicb have stored u[) during the preceding year’s growth a large
amount of nourishment. They therefore bloom at the first break
of spring, go tb rough a brief jieriod of rapid growth, lasting usually
a little longer than that of the annuals, and then the newly
formed bulbs, well ])rotected by impervious coats against the
desiccating influences of a long, dry summer, carry over a full
supply of plant food for the next spring’s blooming.

. At some points in the higher altitudes of the sage plains, in
level or slightly depressed areas which catch and retain for a
time some of the water from the melting snows in spring, a dense
meadow of fine gra.sses, interspersed with the greatest profusion
of brilliantly colored flowers, is formed, and as one of the most

THE SAGE PLAINS OF OREGON

199

abundant is the blue-flowered hyacinth-like camas, Camassia
esculenta, these formations are known as camas meadows. They
cover from a few acres to many hundreds. By the middle of
summer these meadows, drained by some creek or rivulet, are
dried out, the fine black soil, extremel}'’ sticky when moist, gap-
ing open in deep, ragged cracks and becoming so hard that an
ordinary spade makes scarcely any impression upon it. A lump
of it broken off with a pick and cut with a knife shows a smooth,
shining surface very similar to that of pipe-clay. When the soil
of a camas meadow reaches this stage of dryness, the vegetation
ripens, the seeds and dormant bulbous underground parts carry-
ing the plants over the remaining period of drought.

As one descends from the open plains into the valley bottoms
and approaches a lake or the sink of a stream, the soil becomes
alkaline and the vegetation changes, the sage brush being fol-
lowed by a somewhat similar hard-wood spiny shrub known as
greasewood, Sarcohatiis vermiculatiis, and this, in turn, in case the
alkaline valley bottom is dry, is succeeded by a hard-baked soil,
absolutely devoid of vegetation. If the valley bottom is moist,
the greasewood may be succeeded by a green carpet of salt grass,
and this in turn by an incrustation of salt, often with a thin cov-
ering of briny water or oozy alkaline mud in the center of it. If,
as frequently happens, 'the water in one of these valley bottoms
is nearly fresh, it supports a more luxuriant vegetation, and the
dense line of salt grass may be followed by taller succulent marsh
grasses, the area covering hundreds and sometimos even thou-
sands of acres and furnishing an almost inexhaustible sup})ly of
forage. In still wetter soil and surrounding the open water
grows a line of tule, as it is called, a species of tall bulrush,
known to botanists as Scirpus lacastris occidentalis.

At the western base of Steins mountain, in a great groove
formed on the east b}’’ the slo|)ing mountain base and on the
west by an abruptly ended Uj)lift of the lava crust, lie a long
succession of marshes or slews, as they are called, connected by
allowing stream and covering prolaibly a hundred thousand
acres. This land constitutes the principal part of an immense
ranch, consisting of 180,000 acres of fenced land, for the most
}>art well watered. Indeed it covers all the available water siij)-
})1}' of the region and controls a several times greater area ol' arid
grazing land l)elonging to the government. In the spring the
cattle are driven out into the o|)en sage Inaisb, where they graze
for several weeks upon the abundant spring vegetation. I.ater,

400

THE SAGE PLAINS OF OREGON

as the dry summer begins and this transient forage supply is
exhausted, the stock is driven higher upon the ])lateaus or the
mountain slopes, where they find an abundance of bunch grass.
Then, as the cold weather of autumn sets in and the snows begin,
the cattle are brought down again to the marsh lands, and when
the swamps are frozen over and the ice is sufficiently thick they
are driven out upon it and there eat the air-dried sugar grass
and cane grass and tules. Finally, forewarned of the opening
spring by a warm chinook from the southwest, the Mexican
vaqueros, or buccaroos, as the}' are more commonly called in
the language of the Oregonians, clear the cattle off the ice before
it finally breaks U[). Every summer an immense amount of hay
is secured from these great meadows, about three thousand tons
being annually cut and stacked for winter use on this particular
ranch. During the storms of winter the cattle on the ranch are,
as far as possilde, fed and sheltered, but heavy losses from freez-
ing and starvation frequently occur.

In 1889-’9U occurred one of those long, hard winters which
are expected in eastern Oregon perhaps once in ten years. Snow
began to fall earlier than usual and continued almost incessantly
throughout the winter. 'Fhe stock caught out U})on the range
were wholly inaccessible and could not be brought into the cor-
rals. 'fhe cattle that were under shelter at the time the condi-
tions became serious were fed as long as the supply of hay lasted,
and then, the spring not breaking at its accustomed season, the
animals slowly starved. The loss by starvation in the entire
region varied from 30 to 70 and even 90 per cent. Those stock-
raisers who ’were well prej^ared for such an emergency esca])ed
with a set-hack of a year or two in profits, but those who were
taken in the worst condition were in many cases ruined.

The Indians who once lived upon these plains found, through
centuries of slowly-gathered experience, not only that they
could exist, but that they could live in comfort, building them-
selves shelters of tules and of juniper brush, and easily obtain-
ing an abundant supply of game and rich, nutritious food with
all the articles necessary to the manufacture of their various
implements, their clothing, their cooking utensils, and in fact
all the other necessaries of an out-door existence and the lux-
uries of savage life.

Perha])s no Indians in the far northwest have been guided by
better councils from their chiefs, have shown a greater desire to
assume the conditions of civilized life, or have proved them-

THE SAGE PLAINS OF OREGON

401

selves more capable of development under those conditions than
the Klamath Indians of Oregon. They are now gathered to-
gether upon a reservation, about 40 miles by 60 in extent, in the
southwestern part of the Oregon plains, in a country partly for-
ested and partly covered with sage brush. The land they occupy
is a part of that upon which their ancestors lived, and thus, not
having been removed from the conditions under which they
developed, they furnish an excellent opportunity for observing
an intelligent Indian tribe, in process of civilization, still retain-
ing the best and most deeply rooted of their old customs and
habits and substituting for the less useful ones the improve-
ments of civilization, yet not giving up in a generation the old
tendencies of centuries. These Indians graze cattle and horses»
cut hay for winter use, and raise a small quantity of grain and
occasionally a few vegetables. They build fences around their
separate farms and are now building houses of sawed lumber,
their blacksmiths, carpenters, shoemakers, and other artisans
being educated at the agency schools.

At least a hundred species of the native plants of the region
are still used by the Klamaths in one way or another. One of
their staple farinaceous foods is the seed of the great yellow
water-lily of the northwest, Nymphaea polysepala, which grows in
inexhaustible quantities in the marshes of the reservation. The
bulbs of the camas plant, of which enormous amounts are pried
out of the ground in spring with a camas stick or digger, furnish
another excellent and favorite food. The most important of their
fleshy fruits is a huckleberry, Vaccinium myrtilloides, which covers
the mountain slopes in some parts of the neighboring Cascades.
The best of their fibers is a perennial blue-liowered flax, Linum
lewisii, which grows without irrigation in the open sage brush at
higher altitudes. They get a beautiful lemon-yellow permanent
dye from a 3^ellow lichen, Evernia vidpinn, which grows al)un-
dantly on the trunks of trees in the i)ine forests. Some of these
plants and others equally useful may well attract the attention
of agricultural exi)erimenters.

In view of the present agricultural de})ression, which a])j)ears
to be especially severe in the })lains of eastern Oregon, the (ques-
tion naturally arises what the future promises in the wa}'^ of re-
lief; whether the agricultural capacities of the region are such as
to offer a fair ])ros])ect of relief b}’^ some modification of the
prevailing system or whether the result must be the gradual
abandonment of present settlements. 1’his is notabl}^ one of

402

THE SAGE PLAINS OF OREGON

those regions in which money is made out of only one product, in
this case, forage. The forage crop is not immediately exchanged
for money, but is used to fatten cattle for beef, to raise horses
for farm and other purposes, and to grow sheep for wool. At
present the low price of wool has practically put an end to sheep
grazing. The low price of horses, as draft animals, has resulted
in the inability of the ranchers to market their stock, horses
fresh from the range being now worth in some parts of Oregon
no more than five dollars per head. The actual i)roducts of the
region, therefore, are essential!}’’ limited to one, namely, beef
cattle, and the price of these is so low that the income is barely
sufficient to pay the expenses of managing the ranch.

One practical modification of the ])resent system is clearly
apparent to the traveler. Ranchers have been accustomed under
the high prices of former years to neglect the ordinary proce.sses
of farming and to purchase their entire food sui)[>ly from the
outside, paying not merely the first cost of the food in eastern
markets, but the cost of railroad transportation and of a long
wagon haul besides. The ranchers of the plains have assumed
rather than i)roved by exjierience that the country is incapa-
ble of producing the ordinary farm crops, such as are necessary
for family use. There is no question that a }u-oi)er use for gardens
and field cro[)S of some of the water which now either goes to
waste or is turned upon grazing lands would be a most im])ortant
step toward l)ettering the i)resent agricultural conditions. This
lesson, indeed, is now being learned practically from force of
necessity, and in many places where it has been assumed from
the occasional early or late frosts that certain crops could not be
grown it is now found that with j)roper foresight and care ex-
cellent crops are ])roduced.

Another lesson to be drawn from the fact that the native races
obtained an abundant subsistence from these same plains in
which a civilized race now finds it ‘hard to subsist is that it is
impossible to carry on Avith success in an arid region an agri-
culture developed in a humid region, unless important modifica-
tions are introduced. This lesson has already been learned in
some other parts of the country, as, for example, in western Kan-
sas, in Indian territory, and in northern Texas, Avhere after years
of largely unsuccessful trials it was found impossible to depend
u})on the typical American stock feed, Indian corn, but it was
found possible to grow a cereal of the old Avorld, noAV commonly

THE SAGE PLAINS OF OREGON

403

known as Kafir corn. This has been found to flourish under
conditions too arid for Indian corn, to produce heavy crops, and
to have about the same nutritive qualities as that product for
feeding farm stock of all kinds or for human food. There is a
great subarid belt in that region in which Kafir corn has now
become the staple crop, and while there is no great demand for
it in the markets of the world, and it is not, therefore, directly
convertible into money, yet, when transformed into ])ork, beef, or
draft animals, it brings quite as good a price as Indian corn.
Though this particular crop is probably not suited to the plains
of Oregon, it suggests strongly that there may be equally valuable
plants well adapted to that region. The observations we have
just made on the native plants demonstrate the fact that there
are man}^ food-producing species which stand the climate well,
and there is a reasonable probability that some of them might
b}^ careful cultivation and selection be turned into useful agri-
cultural products. The bringing about of such a result, how-
ever, can be the outcome only of long and laborious experimen-
tation and it offers no immediate solution of the present })roblem.

There is one phase of wastefulness of the natural resources of
the United States which a trip across the plains of Oregon par-
ticularly impresses upon the traveler, namely, the careless de-
struction of our great natural wealth of forage. It is doubtless
to this that the local aggravation of the present agricultural
depression is in some parts of the country due. After an edu-
cational campaign of twenty years the government has recently
a[)[)ointed a commission to report a practical jilan of dealing with
the forestry problem of the United States. From the condition
of our great grazing areas in the west it seems ])robable that the
time will come wben a similar poimlar demand will be made
uijon the government for some means of preventing the ex-
haustion of the forage supply on the ])ublic lands. Continued
over-grazing year after year, if sufliciently excessive, unquestion-
ably kills out the native forage plants, Avhich are then replaced
largely by introduced weeds. The original nutritious grasses
never regain their former luxuriance and sometimes are almost
exterminated. Under moderate grazing the native species pi’o-
duee yearly a good crop, or if even slightly over-grazed will
after a few years of rest regain their former abundance.

Only a comparative!}' small percentage of the ari<l grazing
lands of the west are under private ownership. Most of the

404

THE SAGE PLAINS OF OREGON

grazing is done upon the public lands. When the price of beef
or other product of grazing was high, as it was, for example, ten
years ago, it was to the immediate interest of every cattle owner
to fatten the largest number of stock in the briefest possible
time, regardless of the effect of so doing upon the future pro-
ductiveness of forage. Not only is the system a bad one theo-
retically, but its practical effects are manifest in the actual con-
ditions of many portions of our grazing regions today, and if the
])rices of the ])roducts of grazing continue high enough to make
grazing a profitable industiy, the condition of affairs is hound
to become gradually worse, and we shall ultimatel}^ in section
after section, ruin our grazing lands.

The correction of the evil may be brought about, it seems to
me, 1)}' one of three methods. First, by a system of licenses
which shall regulate the number of cattle to be grazed on a given
area. A similar system has been })roposed for our forest lands,
and some plan of the kind seems likeh' to be adopted. The
principal objection to licenses in the case of grazing lands is that
the responsibility of the government would l)e great and the
administration of such a law would add enormously to the ma-
chinery of the executive.

A second and perhaps preferable method is the private owner-
ship of land. It is evident that it is to the advantage of an
owner to maintain his land at its greatest continued jiroductive-
ness, and he would not, therefore, seriousl}^ over-graze it. As a
matter of fact, the great cattle ranges, which are either owned by
individuals or corporations, or are essentially theirs through the
control of the available water supply, are in far better condition
today than the public lands, which are common grazing grounds,
and man}’- of the areas thus controlled are in just as good condi-
tion as they ever were.

A third method of securing responsible management of graz-
ing lands is a long-term lease from the government. The prin-
cipal objection of cattlemen to private ownership of land is the
necessity of i)aying taxes. This difficulty would be obviated by
a lease of the land from the government, and, even though the
amount paid were small, the advantage of an interested manage-
ment would prove of the highest benefit to the general public,
while the government would still retain its title to the land and
after the expiration of the lease could make new terms, based on
longer experience and changed conditions.

THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
AND ITS BIOLOGICAL SURVEY

Probably no investigations now being carried on in connec-
tion with the many-sided scientific work of the U. S. DeiDartment
of Agriculture Avill be more productive of beneficial results than
those which are being conducted in the Division of Biological
Surve}^, under the direction of Dr C. Hart Merriam. Six years
ago Congress authorized the Department to institute a compre-
hensive investigation of the geographical distribution of plants
and animals, but it made no change in the official designation
of the division — that of Ornithology and Mammalogy — to which
this important work was to be assigned. At the last session of
Congress, however, this omission was made good, and now the
study of the distribution of life in the United States with refer-
ence to the adaptation of different sections of the country to
different agricultural and horticultural products will no longer
be even nominall}^ subordinated to those less ini])ortant though
most useful investigations in which Dr Merriam and his collabo-
rators have hitherto been mainly engaged.

During the last half-dozen }'-ears American agriculture has
been passing through a period of transition, consequent in part
upon a sudden shifting of the agricultural center of gravit}’’ and
in part upon an unusuall}" prolonged era of low prices. It has
been a time of cbange and experimentation, and millions of dol-
lars have unquestionably been wasted through ignorance of the
complex relations of the different products of the soil to the con-
ditions under which their growth to maturit}'’ can most effectu-
all}^ be promoted. Although, with the exception of the cotton
plant and the M'^est India sugar cane, all the principal agricult-
ural products of the United States have come, through the
adaptation, either natural or artificial, of one or another of their
varieties to local conditions, to have a range of successful culti-
vation almost as far-extending as the country itself, there is not
one of them, nor a single variet}^ of one of them, that has not an
area within which its yield is more certain, more perlect, and
more abundant than it is anywhere else, and this area is as defi-
nitely ascertainable as is the geograi»hic distrihiition of the hum-
ming-bird or the long-leaved pine, fi'u discover these regions of

•lo.'i

400 STATISTICS OF RAILWAYS IX THE UXITED SIATES

ideal conditions — of perfect adaptations — and so to understand
their essential relations, each to its particular product, that the
result of the slightest departure therefrom can l)e accurately fore-
told constitutes one of the ])rincipal duties of the new division.

The distribution of cultivated products cannot, however, be
restricted to the localities in which the conditions of growth are
exclusively favorable, and it maybe presumed therefore that we
shall see not merely a definite localization of the various regions
of perfect develojmient, l.)ut also an exact graduation of the mani-
fold conditions of all reasonably successful cultivation.

A natural complement of these important investigations will
be the introduction of new species of economic plants from
abroad and their allocation to congenial climates and suital)le
soils, a jn’ocedure that will open u}) enormous possibilities of
usefulness in a country possessing so great a diversit}^ of soil
and climate as does the United States.

All this, however, will call for the exercise of scientific attain-
ments of the highest order, and its accomplishment will be a work
of years. It is to be hoped that neither changes of administra-
tion nor mutations of congressional majorities will interfere with
it, hut that its maintenance will be as liberal and uninterru})ted
as befits an investigation of such vast economic im))ortance.

J. H.

STATISTICS OF RAILWAYS IN THE UNITED STATES

From an advance copy of Statiitiics of Railwai/s in the United States, fi'oin
the report of the Interstate Commerce Commission for the year ending
.Inne .‘10, it appears that tlie total railway mileage of the country at
that date was 180,().)7 miles, an increase during the year of 1,949 mile.«,
or 1.09 per cent. This is the smallest annual increase for nearly a genera-
tion. It is, however, very generally distributed over the country, being
I)articipated in by nearly every state. As to railroad equipment, the
numher of locomotives has been increased by 207 ; the number of pas-
senger cars also shows a slight increase, but the number of freight cars in
use has been reduced by 9,0-^0. The numl)er of railroad employes was
78o,0:}4. This is a tritle larger than in 1894, but is a great reduction from
the preceding year, when high-water mark in raihoad transportation was
reachefl. The reduction is quite uniformly distributed among all the dif-
ferent clas.ses of employes. It is a notable fact that while the pay of the
ollicers and clerks of railway corporations has been materially reduced
during the recent depression, that of other employe's remains practically
the same as at its commencement. The total amount of railway stock
stands at nearly 5,000 million dollars, anel the total indebtedness is 4,641

GEOGRAPHIC WORK IN PERU

407

millions, both showing a slight increase over the preceding year. As to
public service in transportation, the total number of passengers carried
was 507 millions, or, to put the figui-es in another form, tlie number of
passengers carried one mile was 12,188 millions. This is a decrease from
the preceding year of 1,200 millions, showing the extent to which the
depression in business has affected the migrations of the people. On an
average, every man, woman, and cliild in the country traveled by rail a
distance of 175 miles during the year. The number of tons of freight
moved was 697 millions, the numher moved one mile being 85,227 mil-
lions, an increase of 4,892 millions over the preceding year. The gross
income of the railroads was 1,075 million dollars, an increase of two
millions, and the net income 350 millions, an increase of 7.7 millions.
The dividends declared during the year amounted to 56 millions, or about
1.1 per cent on the capital stock. H. G.

GEOGRAPHIC WORK IN PERU

In sev'eral of the South American republics there are flourishing geo-
graphic societies. There, as in Russia and a few other countries, the
geographic organization is a nucleus of general scientific activity, and
geography becomes tbe foster-mother of various sciences, including
geology, mineralogy, meteorology, botany, zoology, archeology, ethnology,
etc. This is eminently true of the “ Sociedad Geografica de Lima,” the
leading scientific society of Peru. Its active membership is large, vigor-
ous, and widely distributed, including many of the best known profes-
sional men and civil and military officers of the country. The ex officio
president is the President of the Republic, and the ex officio vice-president
is the Minister of Foreign Affairs ; the present president of the council is
Dr D. Luis Carranza, F.R.S., a widely known publicist, and the secretary is
Dr D. Federico Elguera, kinsman of a diplomatic official favorably known
in Washington. The honorary membership includesseveral active mem-
bers of the National Geographic Society. The society issues a “ holetin ”
of which the third trimester of the fifth volume has recently appeared ;
its contents indicate the Ijreadth of the field occupied hy the so(4ety. The
oi)ening article is the itinerary of Raimondi — “ El inmortal liaimondi,
creador de la Geografia Peruana,” as he is styled hy a leading Peruvian
geograitlier — among the mountains of Iluancayo in I86(i ; the second
article is an exposition of a graphic method of determining latitudes and
meridians; the third is the rej)ort of the delegate to the sixth Interna-
tional Geographic Congress in I.,ondon ; then follows a list of tlie common
and systematic names of Peruvian plants. Sixteen pages are devoted to
a description of Peruvian hyilrography, and there is a classic contrihntiou
to the knowledge of aboriginal linguistic;s occu|tying forty-two of the largo
octavo pages. \ brief account of the Victoria regia, “ la reina <lcl .Gna-
zonas ” folhjws, and tiie fascicle ch)ses with a series of elaborate met<‘oro-
logic records, including the official tables preparnl l)y the National
Academy of .Medicine.

GEOGRAPHIC LITERATURE

The Scenery of Switzerland and the Causes to which it is due. By Sir John
Lubbock. New York: Macmillan & Co. 1896.

Two critics of this one book have said : “ Had not this volume borne a
well-known name we should have guessed it to be the production of one
or more geological students who bad read too many German text-books,
and mixed their notes with . . . brief and simple extracts from the

diary of a Swiss tour” (London Athenamin, Aug. 1, 1896); and “This
admirable book shows bow thoroughly a sagacious amateur may follow,
appreciate, and transmit to a large circle of readers the best physiograpbic
results gained by geologists and geographers of Switzei’land ” {Science,
Aug. 7, 189()). As the latter opinion is my own, I naturally prefer it to
that of the London writer, who seems to me a carping critic, unsympa-
thetic and unappreciative. He gloats over misprints, he dwells on mis-
takes of de for du, he magnifies other trifling inaccuracies, and thus fails
to present to his readers a clear idea of the intention of the book and of
its e.ssentially successful accomplishment. As it seems to me, the real
point of the book is this: instead of contenting himself, after the fashion
of the typical .■Mpine clubman, with a merely athletic ascent of a moun-
tain peak, in itself truly a fine and invigorating exercise, Lubbock has
done much more, for he has studied as well as climbed, and the book is
an effort to share with others the intellectual entertainment thus gained.
As he says: ” My attention was from the first directed to the interesting
2)roblems presented by the'physical geography of the country. I longed
to know what forces had raised the mountains, had hollowed out the
lakes, and directed the rivers. During all my holidays these questions
have occupied my thoughts, and I have read much of what has been
written about them.” Speaking of the plan of his book, he adds: “I
urged Tyndall and several others far better qualified than I am myself to
give us such a volume, feeling sure that it would be welcome to our coun-
trymen, and add both to the pleasure and to the interest of their Swiss
trips. They were all, however, otherwise occupied, but they encouraged
me to attempt it, promising me their valuable assistance, and this must
be my excuse for undertaking the task, jierhajis in'ematurely.”

The book is a very welcome contribution to pojjular scientific literature,
and the more so because it is upon a subject that has called forth singu-
larly little writing of this class, in spite of the rich variety of its materials.
It gives a brief account of the geology of the Alps, of the origin of moun-
tains in general, and of the structural features of the mountains of Switzer-
land in ijarticular ; then follow chapters on ice and glaciers, on rivers, val-
leys, and lakes, and on the influence of the strata on scenery. Nearly two
hundred pages ensue on special districts of the Alps, such as the Jura, the
central plain, Mt Blanc, the Bernese Oberland, the Rhine, the Reuss, and
the Engadine. Nowhere else can the intelligent reader or observant

408

GEOGRAPHIC LITERA PURE

409

traveler so readily gain a general view of the results attained l3y special-
ists. One may amusedly regret that snow is spoken of as having eight-
sided crystals (p. 56), and at the same time enjoy the account of avalanches
and of moraines, which will surely edify many an inquiring traveler.
Perhaps two names, Sallanches and Salanfe, are confused ; hut where else
shall we go for a simple and accessible English rendering of such studies
as Heim’s on the former course of the Rhine or the beheading of the Inn ?
As a consequence of the latter accident, four little lakes have been formed
on the valley floor, barred by alluvial fans thrown out by the lateral
sti-eams. Here is the best example that can now be quoted of this pecu-
liar species of lakes ; yet the Athenteum critic Avill have it that they are
not caused “ by dams formed by lateral streams, but by the rocky bar-
riers above and below the lake of St Moritz. Lateral streams have only
divided in two places the upper lake.” Having a particular interest in
lakes of this class, I wrote to Professor Heim, of Zurich, for fuller jiartic-
ulars, it being from his original study that Lubbock took his account. In
reply, Heim gives details confirming his original statement and justifying
Lubbock’s abstract of it. A valuable list of works and authors referred
to is given in an appendix. An index is unfortunately wanting.

One of the chief values of Lubbock’s book lies in its being so mani-
festly the work of one who has enjoyed the study and observation requii'ed
in its preparation. The author may still spell Chamonix ^ ‘ Chamonni ; ”
perhaps, as a very busy man, he may leave proof-reading to others (we
hope he gives his own time to higher pursuits), but he certainly shows
himself a generous man in taking the pains to make so accessible to many
others the beauties of nature that he has himself appreciated so well.

W. M. Davis.

Frye’s Home and School Atlas. Boston : Ginn & Co. 1896. $1.15 by mail.

This is a by-product of the Frye series of school geographies. It con-
tains 24 geographic maps, 9 of which are devoted to the United States and
10 to other parts of the world, the remainder being historical and com-
mercial. These are well indexed and are convenient for ordinai’y use,
although upon very small scales. There is also a series of relief maps of
the continents and principal countries, and the work concludes with cli-
matic and industrial maps of the United States, with descriptive text,
tables, etc.

Lakes of North America: A Ilea<ling Lesson for Students of Geography and
Geology. By Israel C. Russell, Professor of Geology in the Universit}'
ofMichigan. Pp. xi -f- 125, with 32 illustrations. Boston : (iinn A Co.
1895.

This little book is a treatise on lakes, in the light of the new geography.
It classilies lakes by the origin of their basins, as those due to atmosplieric,
atpieous, glacial, volcanic, and other agencies. It treats of the movcMiients
of lake waters, as tiiles, waves, ami currents, the elfect of lakes upon
climate, and the How of streams. It describes the characteristic topog-
raphy of lake shores, as dill's, terraces, banks, deltas, etc. ; the character-

410

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY

istics of fresh waters and saline lakes are given, life histories of lakes are
detailed, and the book doses with studies of certain lakes, living and
extinct, including the Laurentian lakes, lakes Agassiz, Bonneville, and
I>a Hontan. The book is an exceptionally fine contribution to the science
of physiography. It is delightfully written and the illustrations are in
keeping with the matter of the work.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
SOCIETY, SESSION i896-’97

Special Meeting, October SO, 1896. — Vice-President Merriam in the chair.
Mr Frederick V. Coville read a paper on the Sage Plains of Oregon, illus-
trated with botanical specimens and lantern-slide views.

Special Meeting, November 6, i&96. —President Hubbard in the chair.
Hon. Willis L. Moore addressed the Society on Weather Forecasts and
Storm Warnings. Typical weather maps were distributed among the
audience.

Regular Meeting, November 13, 1896. — Vresnleni Hubbard in the chair.
Mr George K. French lectured on the Gold Coast Colony; a Visit to
Ashanti and Kuma.ssi, illustrating his address with lantern slides.

Special Meeting, November 20, President Hubbard in the chair.

Col. Charles Chaille-Long, late of the General Staff of the Egyptian Army
and Chief of Staff to Gen. Gordon Pasha, Governor General of Egyptian
Sudan, delivered an aildress on Egypt and her Lost Provinces, with an
Account of the Recent British Expedition to Dongola and Khartum. A
large map of Africa and a number of lantern slides were exhibited.

Regular Meeting, November 27, 1896. — Vice-President Merriam in the
chair. Judge Emory F. Best, Assistant Commissioner of the General
Land Office, read a paper on the Utilization of the Vacant Public Lands,
illustrated by maps and diagrams.

Eleci'ioxs. — New members have been elected as follows:

October SO. — F. N. Barber, P. A. Eng’r F. C. Bieg, U. S. N., L. C. Brown,
Chief Eng’r A. B. Canaga, U. S. N., iMiss M. C. D. Chenoweth, Hon. E.
S. Converse, i\Irs Mary R. Davis, ]\Irs George M. Davison, George Doo-
little, Miss Laura L. Dor.sey, Miss Frances S. Fairley, Miss C. L. Garri-
son, Rev. Alfred Harding, Wm. C. Hobbs, Rev. J. N. MacGonigle, Miss
Jeannette McWilliams, H. C. Oberholser, Edward A. Preble, iMiss E. G.
Reveley, Mrs M. J. Seymour, Dr Z. T. Sowers, Mrs E. A. Sutphen, Philip
A. Tracy.

November 13. — Peter Bisset, G. I. Bouton, ]\Iiss Giace Calkins, Capt. H.
M. Kendall, U. S. A., Frank B. King, Adam R. Magraw, F. E. Mitchell,
D. P. Nicholson, Mrs Albert M. Patterson, Dr Paul J. Robert, B. D. Stal-
lings, E. J. Todd, Edward White, George B. Williams, Miss Hattie P.
Wood, Prof. .41bert A. Wright.

GEOGRAPHIC NOTES

ASIA

Japax. Arrangements are being made for a direct line of steamers to
run between Japan and the Black sea ports.

Siberia. The AVest Siberian Eailway has been brought into direct
communication with the principal railway systems of Europe.

The expedition sent out by the Russian Geographical Society for the
exploration of the Irkutsk region will be absent three years.

AFRICA

Transvaal. The final count makes the population of Johannesburg,
according to the recent census, 102,078. Of the 50,907 whites, only 6,205
were born in the Transvaal.

Egypt. The reembarkation of the Indian troops for Bombay disposes
of the statement that the Anglo-Egyptian army would soon continue its
marcli southward beyond Dongola.

Up to the end of 1895 900 miles of agricultural roads were completed.
The construction of a system of light railways for the transportation of
agricultural produce has also been authorized.

Xatal. The revenue for the fiscal year 1894-95 was £1,169,780, and
the expenditures £1 ,148,093. In a recent lecture at the London Imperial
Institute, Professor Crookes stated that the colony of Natal contains more
coal than existed in Great Britain before a single ton was raised.

Tunis. After fourteen years of French occupation Tunis contains only
3,000 French inhabitants, as compared with 7,000 ^Maltese and 8,000
Italians. The colonizing efforts of the government have been attended
with but little success, but French rule is regarded as being in the main
beneficial.

AUSTRALASIA

New South Wales. During the recent session of parliament some
slight amendments were made in the land laws, with a view to further
facilitating the settlement of the colony, which is .said to be making re-
markable progress.

Victoria. During the last three years the city of iMelbonrne has lost
40,0fl0 of its population, the prosperity of the agricultural industry of the
colony alfording superior attractions to the pui-suitH of the caj)ital city.

The colony of Victoria has shown remarkable energy in opening up an
extensive exi>ort trade with ( Jreat Britain. The colonial government has
jiractically a.xsumed control of the traile, and its contracls with (wo of
the principal lines of steamers enable shipments to he made at extraor-
dinarily low rates, the charge for butter, cheese, and meat being only U

III

412

MISCELLANEA

cents per pound for the voyage from Melbourne to London in cold storage.
The butter shipments to London from this single colony last year were
close on to 26,000,000 pounds, valued at $5,406,215.

Wkst Austhaua. Intelligence has been received of the arrival at Fitz-
roy river, in the northern part of West Australia, on November 6, of tlie
ex])edition which left Adelaide in INIay last for the e.xploration of the in-
terior of southern and western Australia. Two members of the party
are missing and the survivors suffered great hardships and had to abandon
their effects and scientific collection.

POLAR RlXiIOXS

Antarctic. July 15, 1897, is the day fixed for the starting of the Bel-
gian Antarctic expedition. The voyage is expected to be completed
within two years, but a three-years’ supply of provisions will be taken.
Tlie steamer. The Bdgica, will go first to the east of Grahams Land in
George IV sea, and tlien winter in Australia. The second year will be
devoted to Victoria Land. The steamer will be well equipped for scien-
tific investigations as to marine specimens and submarine deposits.

MISCELLANEA

Tlie resources and attractions of the fur west could hardly be more in-
terestingly and at the same time more fairly set forth than is done in 21ie
Corn Belt, an illustrated monthly publication of the Chicago, Burlington
and (Quincy Railroad.

The heated term from July 28 to August 17 last is stated by Prof. H. A.
Hazen in the Moufhlg Weathei- Beriew for August to have covered a larger
region and given abnormal heat on a greater number of consecutive days
than ever before recorded.

Always full of good things, thoroughly up to tlate, and for the most
part admirably illustrated. Knowledge, jinblished monthly in London, de-
serves to be better known in the United States than is indicated by its
somewhat rare appearance in our libraries and newsrooms.

Boldin del LndiHdo Geologico de Mexico, number 3, by Dr Carlos Sapper,
is devoted to the geology and physical geography of Yucatan. It in-
cludes chaptei*s on the agricultural and mineral production of the penin-
sula, and a valuable siqiplement containing meteorological tables and the
elevation of 363 principal points in the province described.

Four hundred Illinois teachers attended the course of lectures on
Physical Geograjihy recentl}' delivered at the University of Chicago by
Professor Albert Perry Brigham, of Colgate University. The lectures
were practically limited to the illustrative study of land forms, but the
audience was led from definitions and elementary principles to the rela-
tion of jihysical geography to history and to industrial development in a
manner that must have proved as delightful as it was instructive.

INDEX

Page

Abbot, Philip S., Obituary of 379

Abyssinia, Description of 168

Adams, Mount (The altitude of), Wash-
ington; Edgar McClure 151

Africa, History of. 377

south Africa and Abyssinia; Gardi-
ner G. Hubbai'd 157

— , Southern ,349

Agriculturk in California 320

Albemarle in Revolutionary days; G.

Brown Goode 271

American Association, Buffalo meeting

of 315

Americas (Fundamental geographic re-
lation of the three) ; Robert T. Hill.. 175
Arctic currents 97

The scope and value of; A. W.

Greely 32

— regions, Map of PI. xxxiv

Barringer, V. C., Obituary of. 216

Bauer, L. A., Review of book by 81

“Bear,” View of steamer PI. n

Beardslee, L. A., cited on Alaskan dis-
coveries 141

Becker, George F. ; The Witwatersrand

and the revolt of the Uitlanders 349

Bell, Robert, Explorations by 281

Berkeley powder explo.«ion 246

Bessels, Emil, cited on Jeannette relics. 94

Bianconi, F., Review of maos by 42

Biological Survey, Work of. 405

Black earth, Russian 5

Blodgett, James H. ; “Free burghs” in

the United States 116

Board on Geographic Names (The work
of the United States); Henry Gan-
nett 221

Boers, Character of 353

Brigham, A. P., Review of work by 220

British Islands (A geographical descrip-
tion of the); W. M. Davis 208

Brown, Robert, Obituary of. 40

Browne, J. B. ; Across the Gulf by rail

to Key West 203

By-laws, Amendments to 86, 215

Cable, Atlantic, Record of laying of 108

Cables (The submarine) of the world;

Gustave Herrle 102

California; George C. Perkins 317

Canals, Isthmian .59, 66, 73

Cantwell, J. C. ; Ice-clitfs on the Kowak

river 315

Caracas, People of. 53

— valley. Views of Pis. vii, vii 3

Cascade .Mount,ain8, Features of 395

— , Surveys in 150

Cayapas Indians, llandiwork of PI. xxv

Central America, Geograidiic features

of. 175

Chapman, Kohert H. ; The aberration of
sound as illustrated by the Berkeley
powder explosion 210

Charlottesville, Field meeting at 269

Chignecto ship railway, map of. 70

Chittenden, H. M., Review of book by... 80

Climate of Africa 163

Oregon 400

— , Russian g

Cooper, Peter, and submarine telegra-
phy 108

Collins, Perry M.,'J'ianseoniinental tele-
graph survey initiated by no

Corthell. Elmer b. ; The Tehuantepec

ship railwaj’^ 64

CoviLLE, Frederick V. ; The sage plains

of Oregon 395

Cruise (Tlie Arctic) of the U. S. revenue

cutter Bear ; Sheldon Jackson 27

Curtis, W. E. ; Venezuela, her govern-
ment, people, and boundary 49

Cushing, Frank Hamilton, Reference to
work of 392

Dall, Wii.lt.am H., Biography of 124

— , Portrait of. Pi. xii

— ; Tlie Kusso-American telegraph pro-
ject of 1864-’67 110

— ; The so-called “ Jeannette relics ” 93

Davis, Arthur P. ; The Kansas river 181

Davis, W. M. ; A geographical descrip-
tion of the Britisli Islands 208

— , Reviews by 185, 409

— ; The Seine, the Meuse, and the Mo-

Davidson, George, Alaskan discoveries

by 141

De Lesseps, Kerdinand, quoted on i.sth-

mian ship canal 66

Department of Agriculture, Work of 405

Diamond tields of Africa 161

Dili.er, j. S., Review of book by 212

Duffiei.d, W. W., Acknowledgment to..; 186
Dutton, C. E., quoted on lopograpliie
terms 291

Eads, James B , quoted on isthmian ship

canal 66

Earthquake effects in Tuscarora deep... 310

— wave (Tlie recent) on tlie coast of

Japan ; Eliza R. Scidmore 285

Ecuador (A journey in) ; Mark B. Kerr. 238

Education in Russia 21

Education, Venezuelan '. 51

Eoi.i, , quoted on geographic names. 222

Encinas, I’ascual, Aid in exploration iiy. 125

England, Geograjiliic work in 208

— , Possessions of, in Africa b59

Erosion, Economic aspects of .328

Explorations, Arctic 32, .37, 98, 339

— by tlie Bureau of American Ettmology

in 1895; W J Metiee 77

— in 1716 205

Mexico 126

Fauna of Ecuador 240

Scriland 130

Fkwkes, J. Walter, Explorations liy 79

Field, Gyrus W., Keference to work of.. I08

— , Submarino ciililo laid liy 1(».3

Field, Henry M., Work of 108

414

INDEX

Page

Fibe worship, Russian 7

Flood observations 302

Flora of Eeuador 241

Olympic country 136

Oregon 3U9

Russia 5

iieriland 12t)

f'LORiDA, Features of. PI. xxxix, 20.3, 2SI

“ Fbam,” Voyage of the 99, 290,339

France, Possessions of, in Africa 1.38

— , Rivers of 189

Franklin, Sir John, quoted on Arctic

discovery 34

“Free burghs” in tlie United States;
James H. Blodgett 116

Gannett, Henry, Biography of 284

— , Letter to, on Arctic exploration 308

— , Portrait of. PI. xxviii

— , Review of book by 212

Gannett, S. S. ; Recent triangulation in

the Cascades loO

— ; Statistics ol railways in the United

States 406

— ; Survey and subdivision of Indian

territory 112

— ; The work of the United fttate.s Board

on Geographic Names 221

Geoorai'hy, Development of. 253

— (The) of the southern peninsula of

the United States; John N. Mac-

Gonigle 381

Geology, Agencies of 328

— of Central America 178

Florida 382

southern Africa 350

Piedmont plateau 263

Germany, Possessions of, in .\frica 1.58

Gibbon, John, Obituary of. 123

Gigmlliat, '1\ H. ; Tiie valley of tue Ori-

Gilm AN, S. C., Obituary of 87

— ; The Olympic country 133

Gisborne, F. N., Reference to work of..... lo8
Glacier bay, AlaskaCl'he discovery of ) ;

Eliza R. scidmore 140

Gold, African 165

— in California 319

Ecuador 243

Venezuela 5b

Gold of southern Africa 350, 358

Goode, G. Brown; Albemarle in Revolu-
tionary days 271

— , Obituary of. 316

Government of Africa 160, 355, 357

Russia 16

Venezuela 50

Grad, , quoted on Arctic whaling 35

Gbeei.y, a. \V. ; Charles Francis Hall

and Jones sound...... 308

— .cited on Nan.sen expedition 346

— ; Jefferson as a geographer 269

— ; Nansen’s polar expedition 98

— , Notice by 380

— , Portrait of. PI. xx

— , Reference to rescue of. 27

— , Review of book by 212

— ; The present state of the Nicaragua

canal 73

— ; The scope and value of Arctic ex-

, plorations 32

Guiana, Boundary of. 57

Hall, Charles Francis, Letter from 308

Hall. James, Sixtieth anniversary of

official work by 316

Hamilton, William, Educational work

of 28

Hawranek, Fredrich, Review of book
by 154

Page

Healy, Michael A., Arctic voyage by 27

Herrle, Gustave ; The submarine cables

j of the world 102

I Hewitt, Abram S., Letter from, on Peter

! Cooper 108

I Hill, Robert T. ; Descriptive topo-
graphic terms of Spanish America... 291

— ; Fundamental geographic relation of

the three Americas 175

' — ; The Panama canal route 59

History of California 317

I Piedmont plateau 265

I — , South African 377

Hodge, F, W., Explorations by 79

Hoi, Mi:s,WiLLiAM H., Review of book by... 153
I Hubbard, Gardiner G. ; Africa since
I 1888, with special reference to south

I Africa and Abyssinia 157

! [Hyde, John I ; A critical period in south
j African iiistory 377

— ; Introductory 1

— , Notice by 380

— , Reviews by 212-214

— ; The United States Department of

Agriculture and its Biological Sur-
vey 405

Hydrographic work. Recent ; F. Ji. New-

' ell 347

' Hydrography, Classification of 236

— , European 189

I — of Kansas 181

I — in the United States; F. H. Newell... 146

' ICE-CLiFFS on the Kowak river; J. C.

I Cantwell 345

I Indians of Ecuador 240

Oregon 400

I Seriland 131

1 — , Studies of

j Indian territory. Survey and subdivis-

I ion of ; Henry Gannett 112

, Ingraham, James E., Reference to work

i by 387

[ International geographical Congress,

I Address before 32

Introductory ; John Hyde 1

Irrigation in California 323

Jackson, Sheldon; The .Arctic cruise of

the U. S. revenue cutter Bear 27

Japan, Earthquake in 285, 310

“Jeannette relics,” The so-called ; Wil-
liam 11. Dali 93

Jefferson as a geographer ; A. W.Greely 269

Johannesburg, View of. PI xxxv

Johnson, Arnold H., cited on aberration

of sound 246

Johnson, Willard D., Explorations by... 77

— 'W J McGee and ; Seriland 125

j Jones SOUND, Charles Francis Hall and;

! A. W. Greely 308

Kansas river. The; Arthur P. Davis 181

Keane. A H., Review of book by 41

Kerr, Mark B. ; .A journey in Ecuador.. 238
Key West, Across the Gulf by rail to;

J. B. Browne 203

Kowak river. Ice-cliffs on 345

I Kubp.l, Edward, Obituary of 379

I La Guayra, View of. PI vi

I Lakes Of Florida -383

I Langley, S. P., quoted *>n winds 249

Lapparent, A. DE, quoted on stream work 237

I Lapparent, A. de. Review of book by 184

i Latitudes, Highest Arctic 100

INDEX

415

Page

Littlehales, G. W., cited on submarine

cables 105

Lubbock, Sir John, Review of book by... 408

McClure, Edgar; The altitude of Mount

Adams, Washington 151

McGee, W J ; Death of G. Brown Goode.. 316
— ; Eighth annual field meeting of the

National Geographic Society 259

— ; Explorations by the Bureau of
American Ethnology, 1895 77

— ; Geographic history of the Piedmont

plateau 261

— ; Geographic work in Peru 407

— ; The American Association at Buf-
falo 315

— ; The work of the National Geo-
graphic Society 253

— and Willard D. Johnson ; Seriland 125

MacGonigle, John N. ; The geography

of the southern peninsula of the

United States 381

Magnetism, terrestrial. Review of work

on 81

Man, Ernest a.; The Nansen polar ex-
pedition 339

Mann, C. A., Obituary of. 216

Maps, Notices of new 45

Margerie, Emmanuel de, cited on diver-
sion of fivers 228

Maya Indians, Subjugation of. 84

Melville, G. W., Review by 212

Mendenhall, T. C., Initiation of Board

on Geographic Names by 221

Merriam, C. Hart, Work of. 405

Mexico, Census of 211

— , Explorations in 77, 125

Michelson, a. a , Review of book by 81

Mill, H. R., Plan by, for geographic

work 208

Milton, John, quoted on Arctic discov-
ery 34

Mineral production in the United

States 2.50, 310

Mir, The Russian 18

Monadnock, Definition of 192

“ Monticello,” View of. PI. xxix

Mooney, James, Explorations by 78

Moore, Willis L. ; The Weather Bureau

river and flood system 302

Morse, ,S. P. B., quoted on submarine

cables 102

Mountains, American 176

— , Names for 292

— of Ecuador 238

Oregon 395

Piedmont plateau 262

Russia 6

Venezuela 52

Muir glacier. View of. PI. xvii

Muir, John, cited on Alaskan discov-
eries 141

Names, Geographic 221

—, Topographic 291

Nansen, Fridt.iof, Portrait of I'l. xi

— , cited on “ Jeannette relics ” 95

— , Return of 290,3.39

Nansen (The) polar expedition ; Ernest

Man 3.39

Nansen's polar expedition ; A. W. Greely. 98
National Geoohapmic Monographs, Re-
view of 42

National Geographic .Society (Eighth
annual field meeting of the) ; W .1

McGee 2.59

— (The work of the) ; W J McGee 253

Newell, F. II.; Hydrography in the
United States 146

[Newell, F. H.] ; Recent hydrographic

work 347

Niagara palls. Investigation of. 315

' Nicaragua canal. The present state of

j the ; A. W. Greely 73

Nijni Novgorod, Fair at 22

Nixon, John, quoted on the Boers 354

North America, Geographic features

of. 175

Notes, Geographic 48, 87, 124, 156, 188,

' 217, 251, 281, 312, 348, 380, 411

Obituaries 40, 87, 123, 216, 379

Officers, Election of 2I6

Ogden, H. G., Review by I88

Oliver, R. L , Report on Yucaian by 83

Olympic country, The; S. C. Gilman 133

Oregon, Description of 395

Orinoco river. Map of. PI. v

Orinoco, The valley of the ; T. H. Gig-
nilliat 92

Panama canal route. The ; Robert T.

Hill 59

Parry, , quoted on Arctic discovery 34

Pearse, R. B., Obituary of. 40

Perkins, George C. ; California 317

Peru, Geographic work in 407

Petroleum, Russian 7

Piedmont plateau. Geographic history of

the; W J McGee 261

Plains, names for 294

— of Oregon 395

Russia 4

Point Barrow, View of PI iv

Population of Africa 163, 352

Kcuador 240

Mexico 211

Indian territory 112

Russia 11

Venezuela 50

Proceedings of the National Geographic

Society... 46, 86, 122, 155, 214, 259, 379, 410

Races of Russia e

Venezuela 57

Railways in the United State- 406

Randolph, W. C. N., quoted on Virginia

families 284

I Ransome, F. Leslie, Heview of book

I by 284

Reid, Harry Fielding, Map by 144

I Reindeer, View of PI. iii

I — , Importation of. ;io

Reviews of geographic literature 40, 80,

1.53, 184, 212, 408

Revolution, Virginia in the 276

Rhodes, Cecil, Conquest in Africa by 160

Rink, H., cited on “ Jeannette relics ”... 95

River observations 302

! Rivers, American 181

j —, development of 189

— , Names for 298

— of Ecuador 238

Florida 383

Piedmont plateau 261

Russia 8

the United States 146

— . Work of. 328

Rockhii.l, W. W., Acknowledgment to... 339

! — , Review of hook hy 42

I Russell, I. C., Review of hook by 409

I Russia in Europe; Gardiner G. Hiih-

! hard 3

Russo-American (The) telegraph project
of 1864-’07; William H. Dali 110

Saoe plains (The) of Oregon ; Frederick
I V. Covillo :195

416

lyoEx

Page

SciDMORE, Eliza R. ; The discovery of

Glacier bay, Alaska 140

— ; The recent earthquake wave on the

coast of Japan 285

— ; Reports of sealing schooners cruis-
ing in the neighViorhood of Tusca-

rora deep in May and June, 180fi 310

ScHOMiiuRGK, R. II., Reference to sur-
veys by 92

ScoRESBY, William, quoted on Arctic

whaling 35

Seebohm, Hexrv, obituary of. 40

Seine (The), the Meuse, and the Mo-
selle; William M. Davis IhO, 220

Serfdom in Rus.sia 19

Seri Indians, Notes on 77

Seriland ; W J McGee and Willard D.

Johnson 125

SiiALER, N. S. ; The economic aspects of

soil erosion 328, 368

Ship railways 64, 7o

Shufeldt, , obituary of 40

— , quoted on ship railways 71

Siberia, Projected telegraph line

through 110

— , Voyage of Hear to 30

Soil erosion (The economic aspects of) ;

N. S. Shaler 328, 368

— of Florida 394

Russia 5

sage plains 399

Sound (The aberration of) as illustrated
by the Berkeley powder explosion ;

Robert H. Chapman 246

South African history (A critical period

in); fJohn Hyde]. 377

^ouTH America, Geographic features

of. 175,2.38

Spanish America (Descriptive topo-
graphic terms of) ; Robert T. Hill... 291

Spears, John R., Review of book by 41

Spoitswood’s expedition of 1716; Wil-
liam M. Thornton 265

Springs of Florida 383

Stein, Robert, Reference to work of 308

Surveys of Indian Territory 112

Seriland 125

the United States 146

Switzerland, Physiographic features of.. 4u8

Tait, P. G., quoted on sound 248

Tarr, Ralph S , Reviews of books by.. 40, 154

Page

Tehuantepec ship railway (The); Elmer

L. Corthell 64

Telegraphy, Transcontinental 110

— , Submarine, beginning of 108

Thornton, William .M.; Spoiiswood’s ex-
pedition of 1716 265

Tiburon island. Exploration of. 77, lz5

Topography, African 171

— , European 189

— , Nomenclatu)' of. 291

— of Olympic c, >untry 134

Seriland..’ 127

Virginia 271

Transvaal, Descripiion of 349

Triangul.ation (Recent) in the Cascades;

S..S. Gannett 150

Tundras of Ru».~ia 6

Tuscarora DEEP Earthquake effects in... 310

Vancouver, George, quoted on Alaskan

discoveries 141

Venezuela: Her government, peoitle,

and boundary; W. E. Curtis 49

Victoria Queen, Telegram from 103

Virginia, '• Free Ouigli&”in 116

— , History of. 271

— , People of. 284

Vivian T. J., Isthmian canal statistics

by 68

Volcanoes of Central America., 178

Washington state. Map of. PI. xvi

— , Mountains of... 151

Waves, Work ot 331

Weather Bureau (The) river and flood

system; Willis L. Moore 302

Webster, W. H., Obituary of. 216

Whaling, Arctic 35

White, Charles A., cited on aberration

of sound 246

Whitney, W. N. work of cited 107

Wight, E. B., Obituary of 87

Willits, Edwin, Obituary of. 379

Winds, Work of 330

WiTWATERSRAND (The) and the revolt of
the Uillanders ; George F. Becker... 349
Wood, C. E. S., qnoied on Alaskan di.s-
coveries 142

Yucatan in 1895 83

Zulu, Portraits of PI. xxxvi

ERRATA

On page 87, the paragraph relating to Franz .Tosef Land should be
under separate snb-caption “ Polar Regions.”

On page 152, for ‘ B. S. Payne’ (Director, Oregon State Weather
Bureau), read ‘ B. S. Pague.’

On page 181, article “The Kansas River,” line 2, for ‘Davis count)’,’
' read ‘ Geary county.’

On page 232, line 39, for ‘ Plate V,’ read ‘ Plate XXVI.’ ,

On page 238, article “A Journey in Ecuador,” line 15, for ‘apricots,’
read ‘ aguacates (alligator- pears).’

On page 290, lines 3, 14, 24, 32, and 37, for ‘ Svendriip,’ read ‘ Sverdrup.’
On page 345, line 2, for ‘ easterly,’ read ‘ westerly.’

AN IMPROVED METHOD OF KEEPING THE SCORE IN.

ilPLICftTE PIST, COMPASS IIST, STRAIGHT WHIST AND EUCHRP,

Since Duplicate and Com-
,ss Whist have come into
shion there has been an
iprecedented revival of in-
rest in the game, due to
e fact that mere luck is to
large extent eliminated by
comparison of the scores
ade in the play of the same
mds by different players.

The one thing needed to
;rfect the new method has
:en a convenient device
^ means of which the score
lade on the first round can
; concealed until after the
;play of the hands, as a
nowledge of the first score
[ten enables a good player
) make a decisive gain, and
latches are lost and won on
ist such little chances.

A Washington player has at
ngth invented and put upon
le market at a very low price a
ttle device which admirably
aswers the purpose, and at the
ime time serves as a pretty
iid useful table ornament,
larker, and pencil rest. It is
illedthe “Cosmos Counter,”
nd consists of a little polished
'ood tablet with a metal key-
oard that can be clamped down
n the score in such a way as to
ring 24 little metal plates over
lie 24 spaces in the “ score ”
olumn of the card, for use in
oncealing each first score as
3on as recorded and until the
and is replaj'ed (in duplicate
diist) or the entire series fin-
ihed (in compass whist).

Whist players will at once see
he advantage of this new
iiethod of keeping the score, as
t effectually prevents their op-
(onents at the same or another
able from taking advantage,
ither by accident or design, of
1 knowledge of what the hand
s capable. The trouble with
luplicate whist, especially, is
hat the replay is liable to be in-
luenced by memory of the cards
ind score, and anything that
lelps to confuse such recollec-
ioii is a great gain to fair play.

The “ Cosmos Score Card,
prepared for use with th
rounter, shows several new fea-

Whist. Kuchre, itc., thu?
filing the same counter ami
to be used for any game of cards.

cts. apiece extra. Cosmos t
Cards, 25 cts. per package o
12 packages for $2.50; by
free of postage.

Ask to see samples at
stationer’s, or order direct
the General Agents.

Co0mo0

C O M I>.A. S

S "W HIST

SCORE 1

TOTALS 1

TRUMP 1

OPPONENTS

HAND

u XT :e» Ij I o

A.TE •WHIST

SCORE

GAIN

TRUMP

GAIN

SCORE

■V 1

5 1

6 s

•

7 1

® 1

9 1

-c

(0 ^

1 1 ^

1 1

12 i

1 9

■:

i 23

(

1 24

Total*

189 ..._

E. MORRISON PAPER CO., 1009 Penna. Avenue, Washington, D. C.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE

• OHIo'llOllTE.

“The Rhine, the Alps ?nd the Battlefield
Line.”

FAMOUS m/. LIMITED

FAST FLYING VIRGINIAN

IS THK ONLY SOLID VKSTIBULKU TR.A.IN, KLECTRIC-LIGHTED, STEAM-HEATED,
WITH THROUGH DINING CAR,

BETWEKN

NEW YORK, PHILADELPHIA, BALTIMORE, WASHINGTON

AND

CINCINNATI, LOUISVILLE, ST. LOUIS, CHICAGO, AND THE WEST.

OBSERVATION CAR ATTACHED.

H. W. FULI.(ER, General Passenger Agent, Washington, D. C.

?? Mutual Life Insurance Company

OR rsJEIW YORK,

RICHARD A. McCURDY, President,

»Tlie Largest and Best Life Insurance Company in the World. «
Assets over $220,000,000.

The Mutual Life has Paid since Organization . . . .

Over $388,440,897 to Policy-holders.

The New Instalment Policy issued by this Company
is admirably adapted to the wants of the Insuring: Public.

EVERY DESIRABLE FORM OF POLICY IS ISSUED BY

THE MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY OF NEW YORK.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE

SOUTHERN RAILWAY

^ .^. * * * S SOUTHERN SYSTEM.

Penetrates with its main line or branches eight States
South of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, and in con-
junction with its friendly allied connections reaches all
the commercial centers of the South and Southwest . . .

DOUBLE DAILY VESTIBULED LIMITED TRAINS

. . . BETWEEN . . .

Washington and Chattanooga via Salisbury, Asheville and Knoxville.
AVashington and Tampa via Columbia, Savannah and Jacksonville.
AVashington and Memphis via Atlanta, Birmingham and K. C. I>l. & B.
AVashington and Galveston via Atlanta, Montgomery and New Orleans.
AVashington and Birmingham via Lynchburg, Charlotte and Atlanta.
Norfolk and Chattanooga via Salisbury, Asheville and Knoxville.

Pullman Sleepers — Dining Cars — Day Coaches.

Additional Trains for local travelers ....

The direct line to the f FLORIDA, GULF COAST and TEXAS,

Winter Resorts of | .... MEXICO and CALIFORNIA,

AND THE BEST

Through Car Line to and from Asheville and Hot Springs — ‘‘The Land of the Sky.''

NA/rite for (VI a p F"olcJers.

R. D. CARPENTER, General Agent, 271 Broadway, New York City.

L. S. BROWN, General Agent Passenger Department, Washington, D. C.
WM. HENRY TAYLOE, District Passenger Agent, Norfolk, Va.

S. H. HARDWICK, Assistant General Passenger Agent, Atlanta, Ga.

C. A. BKNSCOTER, Assistant General Passenger Agent, Chattanooga, Tenn.

J. M. CULP, Traffic Manager. W. A. TURK, General Passenger Agent.

“IMPROVEMENT THE ORDER OF THE AGE.”

THREE NEW MODEL

SMITH PREMIER TYPEWRITERS

Nos. 2, 3 AND 4.

Great

Progress in

Mechanical Overlooked by

Manufacturers

DURABILITY the first consideration.

Many

Improvements

Heretofore

Send for Catalogue. Machines sent you for trial.

The Smith Premier Typewriter Company,

rvi Airsi OP-RICEI: SYRACUSE, IM. Y.

BRANCHES: 1416 F STREET. WASHINGTON, D. C.. AND 28 OTHER LEADING CITIES.

NA TIONA L GEOGRA PHIC MA GA ZINE

Y
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:

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:
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THE REASON WHY

the tourist, traveler, or invalid returns to California is because
its attractions are greater than those of Europe. Its climate is
equable, its hotels unsurpassed in magnificence. The ease and
comfort with which its resorts, as famous as those of the Old
World, are reached by that great system of rail and .steam.ship
lines, the Southern Pacific, extending from the Gulf to the
Pacific, make it readily accessible. \yhy travel half around the
world, to Switzerland, for instance, when the scenery in the
Yosemite and other portions of the Stat^ is so much grander,
and when its valleys are likened to a vast bed of roses, varied
with every hue and color? There is no portion of the Alps
that surpasses the magnificent and awe-inspiring Sierras.
There can be no extravagant description of these beauties of
nature. The Ray of Naples, in all its loveliness, is not a whit
more beautiful than many resorts on the Pacific Coast. See the
wonders of your own land first, and be able to know whereof
you .speak. If you desire information about its health and
pleasure resorts, its scenery, routes, or ticket rates, apply to any
representative of the Southern Pacific for free illustrated pam-
phlets, maps, and time tables. P'or additional information call
or write to S. F. B. Moksk, G. P. A., Southern Pacific Com-
pany, New Orleans, La.

Ripans Tabules cure headache.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPKIC MAGAZINE

National Geographic Monographs

Ou the Physical Features of the Earth’s Surface, designed especially to supply to teachers and
students of geography fresh and interesting material with which to supplement the regular text-book.

LIST OF MONOGRAPHS COMPRISING VOLUME I :

General Physiographic Processes 1

General Physiographic Features VJ. W. Powell

Physiographic Regions of the United States - - - i

Beaches and Tidal Marshes of the Atlantic Coast Prof. N. S. Shaler
Present and Extinct Lakes of Nevada - - - - prof. I. C. Russell

Appalachian Mountains— Northern Section - - . Bailey Willis

Appalachian Mountains— Southern Section - - - C. Willard Hayes

Mt. .Shasta — a Typical Extinct Volcano - - - - J. S. Diller

The New England Plateau Prof. W. M. Davis

Niagara Falls and Its History G. K. Gilbert

Price for one set of ten monographs, $1.50. Five sets to one address, $6.00. Single monographs, 130c.

Remit luith order to AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY,

INI e w Vo rl< - Cir-ioinnati . Chicago

The Rates for Advertising in THE NATIONAL
GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE will be furnished on Application
to the Manager, No. 1458 Euclid Place, Washington.

Ripans Tabules assist digestion.

WHENEVER YOU VISIT WASHINGTON .

YOU ARE INVITED TO INSPECT THE

-L MAMMOTH DRY GOODS [STABLISHMINT -l

WOODWARD & LOTH ROD

Wlfere the LATEST PARIS NOVELTIES are always on Exhibition.
The attention of those who anticipate purchasing . . . .

X BRIDAL TROUSSEAUX

Is invited especially to extreme Paris Noveltik.s in matched sets
of I'rench Hand-made Lingerie, including Gowns, Skirts, Chemi.se.s,
Drawers, Corset Covers, &c. Tliese can be fiirnislied in any numlier
of pieces desired.

HAND-MADE BKIDAL TROUSSBAUX, personally
selected in Paris and exclusive In style and
design : Three or more pieces . . . .

$10 to $250.

CORRESPONDENCE SOLICITED. MAIL ORDERS RECEIVE PROMPT AND CAREFUL ATTENTION.

TENTH, ELEVENTH, AND F STREETS N. W WASHINGTON, D. C.

NA TIONA L GEOGRA PHIC MA GA ZINE

BEST LINE

Chicago OR St. Louis

MINNEAPOLIS

THE BEST ROUTE

To CALIFORNIA,

PACIFIC COAST,

PUGET SOUND,

•i* POINTS IN THE GREAT NORTHWEST ^

IS VIA THE

UNION PACIFIC

‘••THE OVERL-AIVJD ROUTE,”

From either KANSAS CITY, LEAVENWORTH, ST. JOSEPH, COUNCIL BLUFFS,

OMAHA, or SIOUX CITY.

T>e Great Merita of ttila l.liie arc Pnllmaii Palace Sleeping Cara, Bnffet
Library and Smoking Cara, Pullman Dining Cara, Pullman Toiirlat
Sleepera, IClegaut Day Coacbea, Union Oepota, Paat Time

PULLMAN D1N1>IG CARS are run daily between Council Bluffs and Denver, Council Bluffs and
I’orthind, and San Francisco, Kansas Citj’ and Denver.

PUI.L.MAN TOURIST SLICRPICRS run on the Union Pacific are almost equal for comfort
and eonveiiience to the First-Class Pullman Sleeper.

For more complete information relative to this line, time of trains, pampiilets deseriptive of the
countrj’ traversed, etc., call on your nearest ticket agent, any agent of this syst« m, or address

R. TKNBRORCK, General Eastern Agent, 287 Broadway, New York City.

E. DICKINSON, Gen I Manager. E. I,. LOHIAX, Gen’l Pass, and Ticket Agent.

Omaha, Nebraska.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE

A GREAT RAILWAY

The Chicago, Milwaukee and . . .

St. Paul Railway Co.

OWNS AND OPERATES 6,169 MILES OF ROAD.

>*l**l»*l**l**l<^l»*l»*l»*l^l**l<^l»*l»*l»*l'^l**l^^^

IT operates its own Sleeping Cars and
Dining Cars.

It traverses the best portions of the
States of Illinois, Wisconsin, Northern
Michigan, Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota,
South and North Dakota.

Its Sleeping and Dining Car service is
first-class in every respect.

It runs vestibuled, steam-heated and
electric-lighted trains.

It has the absolute block system.

It uses all modern appliances for the
comfort and safety of its patrons.

Its train employes are civil and
obliging.

It tries to give each passenger “value
received ” for his money, and

Its General Passenger Agent asks
every man, woman and child to buy
tickets over the Chicago, Milwaukee
and St. Paul Railway — for it is A Great

Railway. . . . . *

For Maps and Time Tables and any desired information, free of cost,
Address —

GEO. H. HEAFFORD,

General Passenger Agent, Chicago, III.

!tx 0 M 5J o r '^1

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE

The Great Hotels ^

OF THE ^

East Coast

ST. AUGUSTINE,
ORHOND,
PALH BEACH

AND

niAHi.

Railway.

KEY WEST AND MIAMI
. . , STEAMSHIP CO.

THE BEAUTIFUL ROUTE TO

K.ESY XV3E3ST-

Ten Hours from Miami along the Florida
Keys in daylight.

See local time card for sailing dates.

MIAMI AND NASSAU

STEAMSHIP SERVICE

BETWEEN

Miami and Nassau, N. P.

(Bahama Islands),

Will be inaugurated about JANUARY 15th
for the Winter Tourist Season
OF 1897.

See advertisements for sailing dates.

For map of Florida and book Florida East Coast, addre.ss—

J. D. RAHNER,

J. R. PARROTT, J. P. BECKWITH, General Pass' r Agent.

Vice-President. Traffic Manager. St. Augustine, Fla.

PROVIDES ITS PATRONS^ - '

PiiLMAiN Private compartment Sleepers

A L\ CARTE Din i ng gars v

FREE CHAIRCARS ^

Dei-ween

CHICAGO.DDIillQUE. A
ST.PAlL.MmNEAl'OLlS ^

F.H.LORO-ce NY PASS R. tr TICI\LT AOENT‘tmCAC.0

SPEND THE WINTER

IN — —

CALIFORNIA

... AS USUAL ...

But vary the monotony of
travel by returning
via the

SHASTA
ROUTE

AND

MIDI Utmil LI.

By so doing you can
see the

ORIGINAL OF THIS SCENE.

It is in the YELLOWSTONE PARK, and can be reached on your
return from CALIFORNIA if you will see that your ticket reads as
above. In addition you will see

MT. SHASTA, MT. HOOD, and MT. TACOMA,

the Giant Peaks of the Pacific Coast, and pass through Portland,
Tacoma, Seattle, Spokane, Helena or Butte, Missoula, Bismarck, Fargo,
Minneapolis, and St. Paul.

Send me 6 cents for

SKETCHES OF WONDERLAND.

CHAS. S. FEE, Gen. Pass. Agent.

Northern Pacific Railroad. 'St. Paul, Minnesota.

RAPIDS NEAR UPPER FALL.

Among the Contents of Forthcoming

Numbers of

WILL BE THE FOLLOWING:

A Winter Voyage through the Straits of Magellan,

By admiral R. W. MEADE, U. S. N. ;

Egypt and the Recent Expedition to Dongola,

By colonel CHARLES CHAILLE-LONG,

Late of the General Staff of the Egyptian Army;

The Negro Republic of Africa and its Homes,

FROM PERSONAL OBSERVATION. 0

By MR GEORGE K. FRENCH;

The Physical Features of Lake Superior,

By dr mark W. HARRINGTON,

President of the University of the State of Washington’;

AND

The Utilization of the Vacant Public Lands,

By judge EMORY F. BEST,

Assistant Commissioner of. the- General Land Office,

• 9''

JUDD & DETWEILER, PRINTERS, WASHINGTON, D. C.

I . . ’ '

■ t ♦

% 'u

• f,

SUBMARESTE CABLES OF THE WORLD

’WITH THE PRINCIPAL CONNECTING LAND LINES

ALSO

COALING. DOCKING, AND REPAIRING STATIONS

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